Puppy 101
by Ladya C. Maxine
Summary: A prank spell turns Inuyasha and Sesshomaru back into young pups. Kagome volunteers to keep them safe in her time until a cure is found. But as she soon finds out: Puppies are a handful! Chapter 12 up!
1. Holy Smokes!

Title: Puppy 101

Authoress: Ladya C. Maxine

Rating: T

Summary: A mysterious spell has been brought upon the inu brothers and the unthinkable happens: they turn back into pups! Until the rest of the gang can find a way to break the barrier Kagome volunteers to take the chibbis back to her time to ensure their safety. The question is: is her time safe from them?

Warnings: um…extreme cuteness? Some swearing.

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of its characters. Any and all unrecognizable characters belong solely to me and are not to be used. I am not making any money off of this and I write with the sole intention to entertain.

A/N: While doodling on a piece of paper I ended up drawing a cute chibby picture of Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru and was SO in love with how they look as kids that it inspired me to write this fic. Yeah, I know it isn't really original, but I hope you guys like it anyways.

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**Puppy 101**

By Ladya C. Maxine

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"Damn it, Shippo, give me that!" 

"No! I found it first!"

"You don't even like nachos!"

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"Kagome! Inuyasha's bugging me!"

"Inuyasha, leave him alone!"

"He started it!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Kagome!"

"Inuyasha, _sit_!"

**WHAM**

"Damn it! What the hell was that for?"

Swearing under her breath, Kagome fumbled through her backpack to produce another bag of chips, tossing it into the crater Inuyasha now laid in with an exasperated expression.

"Now stop acting like such a baby," she scolded.

"Yeah, you really should act your age," Shippo giggled smugly from Kagome's bicycle basket, clutching his precious though now badly wrinkled bag of nacho chips close to him.

"Aw, shut up, brat," the white-haired youkai grumbled, getting to his feet with an audible** POP** as his spine relocated itself. Rubbing his scratched chin, he glared over at the remaining two members of their little group. Sango had suddenly taken up a fascination with the sky while Miroku pretended to be cleaning his staff.

"You always take his side," he grumbled, turning back to the uniformed miko as they continued on. Despite his tone he opened the small pack and greedily began to stuff the crunchy treat in his mouth.

"Shippo just a kid; he needs someone to look out for him," she responded smoothly, walking ahead.

"Keh! You're still mad about your metal cart, aren't you?"

"It's a bike! And yes, by the way, I am still mad at you. I told you not to touch it. In my time we have people who specialize in fixing them."

"I was only trying to help," he defended, wincing despite himself as he took in the…twisted nature of the contraption's frame.

It had seemed like a good idea at the time to repair it himself…

Kagome glanced out of the corner of her eyes to catch the sour yet dejected look on his face as he fell silent, walking a few feet away from her. The snow-white ears were drooping and his eyes were downcast. She simply couldn't stay mad at him when he went into beaten puppy-dog mode.

"It's not as bad as it looks," she said softly, offering him a small smile.

Actually, it was. It was going to take some days before her bike would be ready for use again. On the plus side, it was a good enough excuse to go home to her time for a few days. She was determined to finish their quest of gathering the shards and truly enjoyed being with her friends here in the feudal age, but she missed her real family, and the modern conveniences that were painfully lacking in this age. After her first few trips back in time she had come to appreciate the simple things in life like the microwave and hot baths a lot more.

Having been travelling for the past two weeks, they had been fairly unsuccessful in finding any new shards, and Naraku for that matter, when they happened upon a large bear youkai. Though shard-less, it had been a proud mother of two young cubs. A proud, _protective_ mother that had been determined to eliminate what she saw as a threat to her young. In any other circumstances it would have taken a single swipe of Tesseiga or one toss of Hiraikotsu, or, when all else failed, Miroku would have used the Kazaana. However, it would have been cruel to destroy her and leave the young ones alone.

So it had been an unusually long battle to drive the creature back. It had worked but not before the enraged demon had taken a swipe at Kagome, who had stayed back with Shippo and her bike. She had been able to duck, bringing the kitsune with her. Her bike had not been so lucky and had been, to put it simply, folded in two. Pleased to have gotten the best of the group, the bear had lumbered off, her cubs merrily frolicking after her.

The fight that had followed afterwards, however, had been even longer and uglier than the first.

She wanted to go home to get the bike repaired. Inuyasha, as always, wanted to continue their journey, hell bent on finding more shards. Many insults and many 'Sit!'s later, Miroku and Sango had managed to break it up for the day. The night was spent with the two glaring at each other until bed time.

The next morning Kagome had awoken to a strange sound and found, to her horror, Inuyasha in an honest, but pathetic, attempt to bend the bike back to its original shape. To make a long story short, she sat him enough times to create a two feet deep hole in the ground. Miroku later noted that that had been an all time record. Inuyasha refused to talk to him ever since.

'He's so stubborn! Now it's going to take longer than before to get it repaired!' she thought before releasing a deep sigh. Well, at least she could spend some time with her friends and family in modern Japan.

"Maybe it's for the best that we take a break," Sango spoke up when the silence in the group dragged on for too long. "We need to rest and regain our strength. Besides, maybe Kaede has some advice for us on how to continue."

"Yeah, Inuyasha was looking pretty drowsy when fighting that bear youkai," Shippo noted from the basket, stomach full with junk food. "Hanyou can't keep up with full demons like--_Ai!_ Kagome!"

"Inuyasha!" she frowned at the dog-demon, who was holding Shippo by his tail, fist raised and ready to deal more than a couple of blows to the kitsune's head. "Put him down!"

He looked ready to argue so she took a deep breath, a sure indication that he was about to be sat. He quickly complied, dropping the small kit carelessly onto the hard road and stomping off, muttering and cursing under his breath.

"That wasn't very nice of you either, Shippo."

"But it's true," the kit pointed out as he was lifted back into the basket.

"Inuyasha is much stronger than a normal hanyou. You hurt his feelings when you say things like that."

"Keh!" the white-haired male scoffed up ahead.

"How long do you think it will take for your bikylel to be fixed, Kagome?" Sango intervened, trying to change the subject while simultaneously slapping Miroku, who had attempted to steal a touch while they had all be distracted.

"It's 'bicycle', Sango. And a week maybe," she sighed, looking sadly at what remained of her bike as she walked, the back wheel wobbling drunkenly over the road. "Perhaps two. The entire frame is twisted."

"Can't you get a new one?" Miroku asked, rubbing his red cheek and grinning at Sango sheepishly.

She shook her head.

"Not at the moment. Bikes are very expensive and we don't have the money right now at home. Mama had to take an extra night job. Grandpa even started selling charms at the malls."

"Malls?" Shippo blinked.

"Uh…it's like a market, only everything is in one big building and there are lots of stores where you can buy different things like clothes and shoes and household appliances and jewellery. There's also an arcade and movie theatre and food court."

She smiled at the three blank looks she received and went on to explained the terms.

Shippo sighed when she was done.

"I wish I could go to your time. It sounds like a lot of fun."

Ruffling his hair lovingly, she looked up to see the small village in the near distance. Inuyasha was still sulking up ahead.

'I better make it up to him or he'll give everyone a hard time while I'm gone.'

Handing her bike over to Miroku, she started to jog towards the hanyou when the white ears perked up, a sign that he had detected something. She faltered but didn't see anything suspicious in the area, nor did she sense any shards.

"Inuyasha?"

"Don't move!" he commanded, hands on Tesseiga's pummel.

Behind her Sango and Miroku had also noticed the hanyou's caution and tightened their grip on their weapons as Kirara transformed, growling as she took her place next to her mistress. For many seconds they all stood still, waiting mainly on Inuyasha, who was as tense as a bowstring. His senses hadn't failed him, as they soon found out.

Kagome gasped when an odd feeling enveloped her. It felt like heavy air yet it wasn't smothering and she felt no malicious vibes in it but it was uncomfortable all the same. Before her very eyes the world was turning light blue as the mist began to thicken. She heard Shippo's squeak of fear from behind her and Inuyasha's curse somewhere up ahead.

"Inuyasha!" she shouted, waving her arms before her in hopes of fanning away the veiling mist. It didn't really help.

"Who the hell are you?" Inuyasha's voice drifted through the swirling clouds.

"Inuyasha, who's there?" she shouted, no longer able to see him at all.

The sound of Tesseiga being drawn and transformed was her reply.

"Inuyasha!"

The only warning she got was the first wave of air before it was followed by a stronger, more violent gust as a loud explosion ahead shook the very road they were on. She heard the others cry out in surprise somewhere in the mist though a loud yelp up ahead got her full attention.

"Wha?! ACK! You bastard!"

"INUYASHA!"

A second blast threw her off her feet and she landed with a hard smack on the unforgiving road. The mist thickened until she could see nothing but blue. Soon the blue darkened until everything went black.

The world fell silent as she slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

Something cold was laid on her forehead and she winced, trying to slap the offending thing away. 

"She's coming to," a relieved and familiar voice said from somewhere above her. A warm hand tapped her on her cheek lightly. "Kagome? Kagome, please wake up."

"Huh?" she blearily opened her eyes to find a blurred figure looking down at her. The image began to sharpen until Sango's worried features became clear. "Sango…?"

"Does anything hurt, child?"

Kaede walked over holding a small bowl of something steaming.

"I…no…I don't think so…" Gingerly, she allowed Sango to help her sit up. In truth her head throbbed a bit but for the rest she was okay. Looking around she found herself in Kaede's hut. "Huh? What happened?"

"Miroku and Sango brought you in yesterday evening. You've been unconscious for almost an entire day," Kaede informed, seating herself down before the younger miko and handing her the bowl, which turned out to contain freshly cooked broth. "Drink this. It's good for your head."

"Thank you," she said, accepting the bowl with slightly unsteady hands. "Where is everyone? I…" She gasped, almost dropping the bowl. "Inuyasha! The mist! What happened to him?"

Sango and Kaede shared a funny look.

"Well?" she persisted, fearing the worst. "Is he injured? Is he…?"

"No, no," Kaede soothed her. "That boy is too hard-headed to be killed. And he only obtained a few scratches that should heal soon. It's just…"

Sango was biting her nail, remaining silent.

Kagome narrowed her eyes suspiciously at their strange behaviour.

"You see, Kagome…it's like this--"

"No, Inuyasha! Give that back!"

Miroku's frantic cries startled all three as footsteps raced pass the hut's entrance outside.

A few seconds later they passed again.

"Drop it! I'm serious!"

And again.

"Bad boy! Bad, bad boy!"

And again.

"That's not a chew toy! Gaah, no! Don't bury it!"

Confused at the monk's choice of words, she shot the two inquiring looks and to her surprise found them both trying to smother their smiles.

"Will someone please tell me what's going on here?"

They didn't need to answer as the shades before the door burst inwards and a small red blur tumbled into the room followed by an exhausted looking Miroku. His hair was riddled with twigs and dried grass, his robes torn, he was covered in a film of dirt and he was hopping as one of his sandals were missing.

"Kagome, you're up!" he exclaimed, relieved though she barely heard him.

All she could do was look at what was now shielding itself behind Sango, Miroku's stray sandal dangling from its mouth.

Large, gold eyes peered around the youkai exterminator before the white mane was trashed from one side to the next as he shook his head, chewing on the already damaged sandal. The white hair and yellow eyes, not to forget the doggy ears, were unmistakeable. It was undoubtedly Inuyasha, however…

"We don't know what happened but…" Sango picked up the squirming hanyou and placed him before her. "Kagome, he's turned back into a pup."

Tbc…

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Read & Review, please. 


	2. Prank Gone Weird

Title: Puppy 101

Authoress: Ladya C. Maxine

Rating: T

Summary: see chapter one

Warnings: see chapter one

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of its characters. Any and all unrecognizable characters belong solely to me and are not to be touched. I am not making any money off of this and I write with the sole intention to entertain.

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Quickly growing bored with sitting still, chibbi Inuyasha rolled over onto his back and continued his attack on Miroku's sandal. The monk sighed and dropped down to sit with the three women, staring exasperatedly at the temporarily content hanyou. 

Kagome couldn't speak, her mouth opening and closing many times before she could find her voice.

"H-How…?"

"We don't know. It must have been something in that mist," Sango said, resting her head on a palm as she watched the small hanyou's antics. "We heard you and Inuyasha cry out but by the time the air finally cleared you were both lying on the road and…Inuyasha was already like this."

"This is the doing of a youkai," Kaede stated. "I sense a very strong spell surrounding Inuyasha."

"It's the same youki I detected in the mist," Miroku added. "There was something in there generating a great amount of demon power, however…"

"What?"

"If this was indeed the work of a demon, it is certainly strange for the youki I felt was not of evil intent."

"What could have caused it then?" Kagome asked, slowly overcoming her shock as she continued to watch the pup.

Tossing the sandal aside, Inuyasha raised his small nose and sniffed. His ears tweaked and he scuttled over on all fours onto her lap, sniffing the broth before taking an experimental lick. Instantly, he yelped and jumped back, the heat having scorched his tongue.

"We don't know what it is, but Shippo took Kirara to go find Myoga."

"That's a good idea," Kagome nodded, picking up the small hanyou, who was still nursing his burnt tongue. "If there's anyone who will know what it is, it's him."

They fell silent for a while, though Miroku mumbled occasionally as he mourned over his ruined sandals. Having gotten over the worst of the burn, Inuyasha blinked up at her with his large eyes before he started to sniff her hand, working his way up her arm. When satisfied that she had no more food, he climbed off her lap, crawling on all fours, and began to sniff around.

"He's kinda cute, isn't he?" Sango couldn't help smiling as the pup inspected Hiraikotsu, licking the surface before finding it distasteful and went on with his exploration.

"Ah yes, a real bundle of joy," Miroku said as he rolled his eyes.

"Miroku…volunteered to look after him all day." Sango's smile grew somewhat evil. "It was pretty interesting."

"How can something so small have so much energy?" he wondered out loud, grabbing Inuyasha, as the pup had started to head outside, and turned him about. Not deterred, the hanyou want over to investigate Kaede's ponytail.

"Makes you reconsider having those kids you're always asking girls to bear for you?"

Studying his sandal for one final time before dropping it dejectedly, the monk sighed.

"Almost…unless you are willing to bear it for me."

While Sango dealt him another slap, Kagome crawled over to where the pup had latched onto Kaede's sleeve, growling softly as he chewed on the fabric. It was then that Kagome noticed that he was only wearing his red fire-rat coat, which was several sizes too big for him and had been fastened around his waist with his belt. The hem reached the floor and the large sleeves, though folded to minimize their size, fell past his elbows.

"We tried to change him into better fitting clothes but he refused them," Kaede explained as she caught Kagome staring. "He has quite a sense of what he wants."

"How old do you think he is?" she asked, poking an ear. It twitched, the pup's attention now on her finger and she was just able to pull away as he nipped after it experimentally.

"Hmm, Inuyasha was, I believe, around 200 before this happened, but dog demons are particularly notorious in their aging. That he's a hanyou doesn't make it any easier. I'm sure Myoga will know the answer."

Inuyasha's soft whine made them both look down at the pup, who was sitting on his haunches and looking around. Whining a little louder, he lowered himself onto his stomach.

"Inuyasha? Are you feeling ill?" Kagome asked, picking him up though he squirmed free. "What's wrong?"

He didn't answer but began to search once more, looking behind everyone and everything. Not finding…whatever it was, he raised his head and to her amazement, he howled. The adult Inuyasha had never howled before.

"He's been doing that all day," Sango said, ignoring Miroku, who had two red cheeks. "He just stops and starts howling or whimpers. It goes away eventually, but he repeats it."

The white ears perked as Inuyasha seemed to be listening out for something, but they fell when nothing happened. Beaten-puppy-dog-looking adult Inuyasha was hard to resist; beaten-puppy-dog-looking toddler Inuyasha was simply irresistible.

"It's okay, Inuyasha. We'll find a way to get you back to normal," Kagome assured, picking up the moping pup, who didn't resist this time and it became apparent why as he yawned widely, revealing small milk teeth…er…fangs. Snuggling against her, he looked around one final time before his eyes closed and he drifted off to sleep.

Holding the young hanyou Kagome smiled. He was so cute! She wasn't exactly sure what was wrong with him but a guilty part of her wouldn't mind it if he remained like this for a little while longer. Who knows; it may even be easier looking after him now then when he is back to normal.

"Ohiyo!" a squeaky voice piped up out of now where, followed by a sting on her neck.

Sighing, she slapped the skin. A **SQUISH **sounded, followed by a strangled moan.

"We're back!" Shippo announced, skipping in with Kirara on his heals. "Kagome, you're up!"

"Indeed," Myoga said, puffing himself back to his usual shape in Kagome's palm. "And by the taste of your blood I'd say that you are in perfect health."

"Uh, that's great…I guess."

"Well, well, let's see what we've got here. Shippo had some rather amazing news to tell me." Hopping onto her thumb, the tiny youkai stared at the dozing hanyou, big eyes widening. "Ooh! Toutousai!"

"Toutousai?" Kagome turned just as the ancient sword smith stepped into the hut, his hunched figure shuffling towards them. "What are you doing here?"

"I met Myoga and Shippo on their way over here and I was curious," he replied. "What happened?"

"We're not really sure," Kaede said, putting on some hot water for the guests.

"We think it may be a spell," Miroku offered as the old youkai took a seat opposite Kagome, examining the oblivious pup.

"It looks like the work of Nanginkiko," Myoga exclaimed, hopping onto a snowy ear only to be flicked off by Inuyasha in his sleep, sending the flea youkai flying across the room with a loud, "Eeeeeeeeeeeeh!"

"Nanginkiko?" Sango and Kagome asked together.

"A mononoke, somewhat of a poltergeist," Toutousai explained. "He's known for playing such tricks and takes great pleasure in them. They are meant as mere pranks but they can have some chaotic consequences."

"I see," Miroku nodded. "I do recall having heard of him. But why did he target Inuyasha?"

Toutousai cried out, startling them all.

"Inutaisho!"

"...Inutaisho? As in Inuyasha's father?" Kagome asked, not seeing any connection between the two.

"My lord, you and your foolish games!" Toutousai went on, moping. "See what you have brought upon us all! I beseeched you not to do it!"

"Do what?" they all demanded, tired of his rambling.

"For all his power, Inutaisho enjoyed a good laugh every now and then. So when Nanginkiko appeared in his domain he allowed him to stay. It was Nanginkiko who started it, but my lord retaliated. Two full grown youkai playing foolish pranks on each other." He shook his head, burying his face in his bony hands.

"It would appear that even though Lord Inutaisho is deceased, Nanginkiko has no intentions of stopping in his fun. He must have searched out Inuyasha, hoping to continue where the lord had left off," Myoga cued them in, sitting on the moaning sword-maker's knee.

"That's good, isn't it?" Shippo asked, perched on Kagome's shoulder. "All we have to do is find Nanginkiko and ask him to turn Inuyasha back to normal."

"It's not so simple, young kitsune," Toutousai said. "Nanginkiko is not an easy mononoke to find, unless he wants to be. And he never stays put in one place for long and uses teleportation to travel. He could be hundreds if not thousands of miles away from here by now."

"But…how are we going to get Inuyasha back to normal? I don't think he can use Tesseiga like this."

"Sango brings up a good point," Kaede agreed. "And another problem is Naraku. We can't change Inuyasha back on our own so until then he is extremely vulnerable. If Naraku finds out about his current condition…"

That thought was indeed very disturbing.

Kagome looked down at the hanyou. Naraku was as sneaky as they come; if he were to learn about this than he'd no doubt move in to dispose of Inuyasha in his helpless form and they would be unable to do anything. Inuyasha was in even bigger danger than they thought.

"We need a plan, and fast," Miroku said, taking action. "Nanginkiko may be hard to find, but he must have a certain area where he dwells when not travelling; mononoke always need a sanctuary. If he indeed lives in Inuyasha's father's domain then that is where we must begin the search. This could take weeks, though."

"But we can't travel with Inuyasha like this. And he can't stay here either because Naraku is bound to notice sooner or later that he is missing from our group and seek him out," Sango pointed out.

"Then...where can we leave him?" Shippo wondered.

Kagome watched them think it over, cradling the pup close to her. It was a tough situation. Looks like she wasn't going back home after all...Hold on...

"I can bring him with me!" she suddenly exclaimed, mentally slapping herself for not having thought of it sooner. "Back to my time. He'll be safe there from Naraku while you guys look for Nanginkiko!"

"It's durable…" Toutousai agreed, "but do you think you can handle him, Kagome?"

"What do you mean?"

"I wasn't around a lot during Inuyasha's childhood but from what I gathered he used to be quite a handful."

"I can deal with him," she insisted, positive of her relationship with the hanyou. "I mean, I've looked after him when he was all grown up and stubborn and foul mouthed. I even think he's easier like this."

"Perhaps," the old youkai said, not as convinced as she was. "I wonder how old he is."

"We were hoping you could tell us," Kaede said to Myoga who shook his bald head.

"Inuyasha was born the very night the lord passed away. His mother, the lady Izayoi, escaped to her old village where she raised him. I regret to say that I didn't see much of him until after she died, and by then he was much older."

"I wonder…" Toutousai said, looking perplexed but didn't continue.

"Wonder what?"

"Huh?"

"What do you wonder?" Kagome asked.

"Was I wondering something?"

"Argh!"

Her shout finally woke Inuyasha, who opened sleepy eyes, blinking disoriented before focusing on her.

"Welcome back, Inuyasha," she smiled.

Sniffing the air, he took note of the new smells, turning to Toutousai and Myoga.

"Eh!" he shouted, fixating on the flea. "Eh! Eh!"

"What?" Myoga trembled as the hanyou began scampering over to him. "What's he-Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeh!"

He jumped as Inuyasha tried to squash him.

"Looks like Inuyasha's found a new toy," Miroku grinned as they proceeded to watch the toddler chase the poor flea about.

"Help meeeeeeeeee!"

Kagome was just about to do so when the hanyou suddenly stop, though his momentum made him topple face first onto the floor. Undeterred, white ears perked. A small nose raised and, sniffing loudly, the pup gave an excited yip and began to dance in circles before making a mad dash for the doorway.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome shouted, running after him.

He definitely was faster than expected. He had rocketed out of the hut, crossed the small dirt plain and had been making a bee line for the forest when she finally managed to grab him. He began to complain, wriggling desperately in her hold, wanting to go back down.

"What's wrong with him?" Sango asked, coming up behind her along with the rest.

"I don't know," Kagome said, fighting to keep a hold on the fighting hanyou. "Do you see anything?"

They scanned the area but nothing moved. Still, Inuyasha continued in his attempts to get free.

"Kirara?" Sango asked when the cat demon transformed, fur bristled as she snarled in the direction of the tree line. Catching the others' eyes, Sango pointed to the forest. "Something is coming."

"What if it's Naraku? What if he already found out?" Shippo panicked, hiding behind Miroku.

"I don't feel his presence," Miroku said, looking at Kaede. The old priestess shook her head, indicating that she couldn't pick any up either. "Kagome-chan, can you feel any shards?"

"No!" she gasped. Inuyasha was being quite a handful, literally. Maybe she should reconsider bringing him home with her...

At Kirara's insistence all weapons were aimed at the invisible threat and all they could do was wait for it to appear.

Finally, Shippo sniffed in the wind and was able to identify what was bothering both Kirara and Inuyasha.

"Uh-oh…"

"Uh-oh? What uh-oh?" Myoga asked, cowering in the kitsune's tail.

"That scent…it's Sesshoumaru!"

Kagome paled.

Uh-oh, indeed.

Tbc…

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	3. Two Of A Chibbi Kind

Title: Puppy 101

Authoress: Ladya C. Maxine

Rating: T

Summary: see chapter one

Warnings: see chapter one

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of its characters. Any and all unrecognizable characters belong solely to me and are not to be touched. I am not making any money off of this and I write with the sole intention to entertain.

* * *

'What to do? What to do? What to do? What to do? What to do?' 

Standing there with a resisting hanyou, Kagome's mind ran along this line, chanting it over and over again. Suddenly, having Naraku around didn't seem all so bad; at least they knew where they stood with him.

There wasn't a relationship that could ever be more unpredictable than that between the two brothers. Or half-brothers, as both insisted on being called. Sesshoumaru was always a threat; the hard part was determining how much on a particular day. Some encounters resulted in the brothers getting into a fight while in others the only things exchanged were insults or, on very rare occasions, some questions. It mostly depended on Sesshoumaru's mood.

She couldn't predict how he'd react to finding his hanyou brother like this. He appeared to have abandoned trying to get Tesseiga, but that didn't mean he would hesitate in doing away with Inuyasha, the 'stain' in the family pedigree, as he was more than willing to remind his younger sibling during ever chance meeting.

"Kagome!" Sango said, quickly stepping in front of her. Sometime during Kagome's indecision she had run back inside and was now wielding her giant boomerang. "Stay behind us."

"Don't...It's too dangerous," Shippo pleaded, now on Toutousai as Miroku had also moved to the frontline.

"I don't think so," the sword-maker said, taking on that enigmatic tone from earlier.

"What are you mumbling about?" Kagome demanded, finally getting a good grip on Inuyasha. "Inuyasha, no! You can't fight him like this!"

"I think it would be a more even battle than you think…"

"Spill it already!" she snapped, tired of his riddles.

"If Nanginkiko is behind this…who says that he would only target Inuyasha?"

Even Kirara turned at that, red eyes puzzle but a low rumble was followed by two scaled heads clearing the wooded area, a large body soon emerging to fully reveal the large dragon that Sesshoumaru sometimes used to travel on. While said owner was nowhere in sight, the beast was being led by a small, dark-haired person.

Kagome relaxed. If there was one thing she could count on, it was that Sesshoumaru would not kill when Rin was around. What did surprise her was that the girl looked to be alone; the toad Jaken was not around or they would have surely heard him by now, and the familiar tall being that was Inutaisho's eldest was also absent, despite Shippo telling them otherwise.

Sango and Miroku relaxed as well...before they both squinted and then gaped.

Looking back, Kagome saw that it was not Rin, but something walking alongside her that was drawing everyone's attention. Something just a bit shorter than the girl, its almost white glow in the sunlight contrasted with the human's darker tone. Said glow had rendered it nearly invisible from a distance but the closer the small group grew the clearer the figure became.

"Is that…?" Sango hesitated.

"No way!" Shippo gasped, hopping onto Miroku's head for a better look.

"I thought as much," Toutousai said, shaking his head.

The beast of burden groaned as the procession came to a halt before them.

Kagome finally found her voice.

"S-S-Sesshoumaru?"

The Lord of the Western Lands looked _up_ with big eyes at the new company, blinking through long bangs. The spiked armour and his swords were gone, packed onto the dragon's back and instead of his royal clothing he wore a simple yukata very similar to that of Rin's. Noticeably missing were the crescent moon on his brow and the maroon stripes on his cheeks, not to mention the aloof and menacing leer in his eyes. He looked as confused to see them, perhaps even more so; he did not appear to recognize any of them.

"By Buddha…" Miroku breathed, staring down at their once lethal opponent.

Rin looked uncertain and turned to her guardian, who usually dealt with such cases. He only returned her stare, not any wiser, if not totally clueless, as to why they were here. The sudden change in roles was something the young girl was clearly not used to but she braved it for she had no other choice.

"Um…excuse me," she said meekly, "You're Lord Sesshoumaru's brother's friends, right?"

"Yes, we are," Sango smiled back, kneeling before her to lessen her discomfort, carefully eyeing the youkai for any signs of attack, but Sesshoumaru remained passive. "I see you have the same problem as we do."

Rin nodded, glancing past the exterminator to where Kagome was once more trying to contain Inuyasha, who was positively fighting her to be put down, whining and barking in protest.

"Let him go, Kagome," Toutousai said, fearing she would soon get one scratch too many and too deep.

"But--"

"I don't think you'll have to worry about anything happening," Myoga offered from on top of his old friend's head. "Just put him down."

She didn't trust Sesshoumaru, shrunken or not, but she didn't trust Inuyasha either as he looked about ready to bite her if she didn't let him loose. Swallowing, she knelt down and released him. With happy bounces, the hanyou rocketed towards his older sibling, who watched his approach with wary eyes until Inuyasha was upon him, bowling him over and sending them both down onto the grass.

"Eh-ou, Eh-ou!" Inuyasha exclaimed, hugging the startled pup tightly.

"What the...?" Shippo voiced their thoughts.

Such a reunion between brothers shouldn't have been all that surprising, but this was _Inuyasha _and _Sesshoumaru_! Two brothers who took the word 'sibling rivalry' to unprecedented levels. Sesshoumaru usually started the fights, Inuyasha always took up the challenge, both would beat the crap out of each other, then they'll split up and do it all over again at their next meeting. Hugging was _not_ part of that routine.

"Looks like Nanginkiko really wanted to outdo Inutaisho on this one," Toutousai observed the two, scratching his chin.

"If you ask me I think he's pulled off the greatest trick in history," Miroku said. "Not even the Shikon no Tama could bring these two together."

"Um…what happened to Lord Sesshoumaru?" Rin asked, stepping aside in order to not be knocked over by the bubbling Inuyasha, who was now running circles around his ruffled sibling. Sesshoumaru watched his antics with a harmless expression, uncertain of what to make of the bouncing pup.

"You tell us," Shippo said, hopping down but keeping close to Kagome. He had always feared Inuyasha's older brother and even as a child Sesshoumaru was still bigger than him.

"Lord Sesshoumaru was walking with Rin and Ah Un yesterday when a funny cloud appeared. Lord Sesshoumaru told Ah Un to take Rin away. When Rin came back Rin found Lord Sesshoumaru like this. He was sleeping and didn't wake up until this morning."

"Where's Jaken?" Miroku asked, mildly confused to hear her referring to herself in the third person.

"Lord Jaken went to the south last week to do something for Lord Sesshoumaru. He does that a lot. He doesn't know that Rin and Lord Sesshoumaru are here."

"And why did you come here?" Sango implored.

"Because Lord Sesshoumaru wanted to come here," she answered matter-of-factly.

This was an interesting note: while he appeared older than Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru had so far made no inclination to speak.

"He did? What did he say?" Kagome pursued.

"Lord Sesshoumaru won't talk, but something woke him up this morning and he started walking. Rin just followed with Ah Un."

"I wonder if he heard Inuyasha's howls," Miroku said. "That would explain him coming here and Inuyasha's strange behaviour. When separated from family young youkai will call out until someone comes for them."

"You're right," Sango said. "I've seen it happen before."

By now Inuyasha had exhausted himself and was simply sitting before his brother, excitedly staring him straight in the face as if waiting for him to do something. Sesshoumaru stared back, which was unique in its own rights as he usually refused to meet the hanyou's eyes when they weren't locked in physical combat. Right now it was a mere staring contest.

"But this doesn't add up," Myoga noticed. "Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru didn't share childhoods. In fact, Sesshoumaru was a young adult when Inuyasha was born and they have never had a close bond. Why is Inuyasha acting as if they are playmates?"

Toutousai scratched his head, shrugging.

"I suppose he just recognizes Sesshoumaru as his relative. This does explain why Sesshoumaru is so docile. He too identifies Inuyasha as blood-related but he's still young; many years shy of beginning to hate humans and hanyou."

None of this told Kagome much. Inuyasha had actually never revealed his age to her and Sesshoumaru…Well, it went without saying that she had no clue how long he'd been about.

"So…how old do you think they are?"

"Luckily, I should be able to make an estimation since I was there throughout Sesshoumaru's upbringing," Toutousai said.

Walking over, he picked up the bigger pup, holding him out at arms length and giving him a once-over before weighing him. Sesshoumaru stared back silently. Him being so harmless, allowing Toutousai to even touch him, was probably even more surreal than him being just over three foot tall.

"Mm-hm…" the sword-maker nodded for some reason before putting the pup down. Lifting a small chin, he turned the head to one side, then the other. Then up, then down.

"His facial markings haven't appeared yet. The stripes showed up as faint lines just before puberty and darkened over the following decade, and the moon crest on his brow came thereafter. And…" He took a small hand, pulling back the large sleeve. "The ones on his arms are visible which, if I recall correctly, appeared when he was around 95. Hmm..."

Next he pulled down the chin, forcing the confused youkai to open his mouth, revealing canines much more developed than Inuyasha. Using a long fingernail, he tapped a sharp fang lightly, producing a clicking sound.

"He still has his milk teeth, though they have hardened considerably and should begin to change quite soon." Releasing the pup he sat back on his heels. "One last thing…"

Turning the now totally bewildered puppy around, he lifted the hem of the yukata slightly to expose the tip of a small tail, which was wagging slightly.

"Aaaawwww!" Kagome couldn't resist. "I didn't know he had a tail!"

"You've seen it before," Myoga said. "He always has it wrapped around his shoulder."

"Eh?" she said, which earned her a funny look from Inuyasha though the pup was more concerned on the strange-looking sword maker, who was examining his only living kin. "That fluffy thing? I thought it was a boa."

"Very well," Toutousai interrupted, putting the relieved pup down. "All in all, I believe him to be around 110 to 120. And, making some rough calculations, that means that, Inuyasha should, by comparison, be around 50."

Kagome couldn't find the logic behind that, but then again, what did she know?

"So in human years they are…" she trailed off.

"About five and three, I suppose."

That settled, they turned their attention back on the two. Having caught a glimpse of the twitching tail, Inuyasha was trying to get at it but Sesshoumaru refused to get up, sitting on the appendage. Frustrated, Inuyasha flopped onto his side, pushing his brother's behind.

"Eh-ououououou!" he whined.

Sesshoumaru didn't budge, seemingly lost in thoughts.

"Alright…" Miroku started, "So now what?"

"Nothing's changed," Kaede said. "You have to find Nanginkiko. Until then Kagome will have keep Inuyasha in her world, though…"

"What about Sesshoumaru?" Sango filled in. "Naraku has just as much, if not more, reason to come after him. He wants Sesshoumaru's blood to enhance his own power."

Rin started at this.

"Rin don't want anything bad to happen to Lord Sesshoumaru!" she cried, aggrieved at the idea that her guardian could be harmed. "Please help him too!"

Kagome bit her lower lip. Inuyasha she felt she could handle, but taking on responsibility for his brother was a whole other thing. To begin with, she knew nothing about him. How could she look after someone who but a day ago would have easily gutted them had their paths crossed?

"I…I don't think he could go through the well," she lied, though it wasn't far from the truth, now that she thought of it. "Inuyasha is the only other person I know who can pass through into my time."

Rin looked devastated but remained quiet, kneeling down before the silent youkai, who blinked out of his musings to study her downcast face.

"Rin...?" Kagome asked, kneeling beside her.

"Rin don't want Lord Sesshoumaru to get hurt. Lord Sesshoumaru always looks after Rin and Rin wants to look after him too…but Rin can't!" She covered her eyes as tears spilled from their corners. "Lord Sesshoumaru is all Rin has! He's is the only one who loves Rin! Rin doesn't want to be left alone again!"

They fell silent at her tearful admission.

'She really cares for him…' Kagome thought, watching the sobbing girl. 'If something was to happen to him then there would be no one to take care of her…'

Rin's crying stopped when Sesshoumaru, either simply condoling the girl who had accompanied him here or somehow recognizing her through the spell, leaned forward and placed a gentle hand on her head. The action, though vague to the rest, made Rin's face lit up with a smile.

"Rin loves you too."

"Huh?" Kagome asked stupidly.

Rin loved him _too_, as in that he had meant, and previously said, that he loved her? What next?

Ask question, get answer.

Inuyasha, not at all interested in his brother's rare show of compassion, had only noticed that Sesshoumaru had moved, meaning he was no longer sitting on his tail, meaning that the object of Inuyasha's fascination was now brushing before his very nose very temptingly. He needed no convincing and quickly latched on to it with his little teeth.

It looked like some things never changed as Sesshoumaru, painfully reminded of his mistake, dealt the puppy a good bop on his head, not having uttered a single word. Inuyasha yelped and released the now lashing tail to rub his head. It hadn't been a very hard hit but he took it as a challenge; something he never turned down, adult or puppy. Crouching down, ears flat, he…snarled, if one could call it that, and pounced, tackling his brother for the second time that day.

Rin giggled through her tears at the sight of her usually proud keeper now pinned under the excited hanyou.

Kagome wasn't so easily distracted.

'What must I do?'

"What are you pondering about?" Kaede asked, taking her eyes off the tumbling pair.

"I…"

"Surely it isn't as hard a decision?" the wise miko said. "If Sesshoumaru can go through the well then you take him with you, if he doesn't then he'll have to stay here and I will look after him and the girl until we get to the bottom of this."

"You'd look after him, just like that?" Kagome asked. "After all he's put us through?"

"Don't be so daft, child!" Kaede scolded in her usual manner. "Granted, I don't have as much experience with Sesshoumaru as you lot do, but we are not dealing with the reigning Lord of the Western Lands. We are dealing with a young pup, who deserves whatever protection we can offer."

"She's right," Miroku agreed, walking over. "Besides, what if something happened to him while he is still a pup? How do you think Inuyasha would react when this is all over, knowing that we did nothing to help him?"

One would think that to be an easy question to answer, considering how the two got along, but somewhere deep down a certain, albeit it highly unstable, hint of a bond between the two had begun the grow over the last few months. Inuyasha would easily say that he didn't care what happened to his 'bastard brother', but Sesshoumaru was his only living kin; there just had to be some sort of brotherly affection, if not tolerance, in the both of them.

"Inuyasha would probably be mad that he didn't get to kill Sesshoumaru himself," Shippo piped up, stating one side of the coin.

"Or he would feel regret losing Sesshoumaru in such a way. Fights and insults aside, both are still brothers and somewhere deep down they have both come to accept that," Myoga pointed out the other half, voicing Kagome's exact thoughts.

"Like with Takenmaru and Sou'unga," she recalled, remembering the last big battle in which, for the first time ever, they had seen Sesshoumaru protect Inuyasha from what could have undeniably been a fatal blow.

"Oh yeah…" Shippo said before gripping his hair. "Argh! They're so confusing!"

"Miss Kagome?"

Rin had crept closer, watching the older girl hopefully.

"Yes, Rin?"

"Rin knows you don't like Lord Sesshoumaru, but…"

She held out something she had been clutching close to her chest. A wooden hairclip, its colour bright and a single stone sparkling on its tip.

"What's this?" Kagome asked, lowering herself to eye-level.

"Rin's mama gave it to Rin before she and papa died. It's not much, but it's Rin's favourite." She held it out once more. "Will Miss Kagome help Lord Sesshoumaru if Rin give this to you?"

"But it was your mother's."

"It's all Rin has left from her family…but Rin will give everything Rin has if it means that Lord Sesshoumaru's safe."

The selfless and honest offer almost made Kagome choke but instead she firmed herself. If not for Sesshoumaru, then she'd most certainly do this for Rin.

Closing the small hand around the hairpin, she gently pushed it back against the girl's chest.

"You really care for Sesshoumaru if you are willing to give away something this special for him," she said, smiling to the solemn girl. "But the only thing I will take with me is your Lord."

A wide smile spread across the round face.

"You'll help Lord Sesshoumaru?" she asked, excited.

"I'll do my best to bring him back to you."

"Thank you, Miss Kagome!" she cried, hugging the miko tightly. Releasing Kagome, she ran off towards Ah Un and began rummaging through the many packs it had strapped to its strong back.

"Are you sure about this, Kagome?" Myoga asked. "It will be quite challenging juggling the both of them."

"I'll manage," she said, suddenly feeling invigorated to hold true to her promise as she watched Rin select several items. Looking back at the two pups, the bigger of whom had managed to use the smaller one's too big sleeves to trap him, she smiled. "Besides, I think having Sesshoumaru along will be for the best; he can keep Inuyasha occupied."

Tbc…

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Read Review, please. 


	4. Down The Well

Title: Puppy 101

Authoress: Ladya C. Maxine

Rating: T

Summary: see chapter one

Warnings: see chapter one

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of its characters. Any and all unrecognizable characters belong solely to me and are not to be touched. I am not making any money off of this and I write with the sole intention to entertain.

A/N: A reader pointed out something very interesting which I believe needs some explanation. 'Sesshomaru' is the English spelling while 'Sesshoumaru' is the original Japanese version of his name. Shippo/Shippou is another example. Likewise, Inuyasha's sword also has two spellings but they are based more off of pronunciation than spelling. The Japanese kanji for the sword is indeed Tetsusaiga however when pronounced the 'tsu' is left out. There are many words in Japanese with 'tsu' in them but they are never pronounced. So while Tetsusaiga is the correct spelling for the sword, Tesseiga is the practical word used Japanese as well as English.

* * *

"Kagome"

"Yes?" she asked, looking up from packing her knapsack at Sango.

"Are you sure you can handle this?"

"Sango, I won't be on my own on this one. My mom will be there to help me; she raised two kids on her own, and making sure grandpa doesn't get into too much trouble is her specialty."

"But I thought you said that your mother is working…two-time?"

"Double-time," Kagome corrected before the words really sank in. She sat back on her heals. "Oh…I forgot about that…"

"Lord Sesshoumaru will behave," Rin offered, sitting between the two older girls with a few bags of her own. "Lord Sesshoumaru always tells Rin that good manners are very important and that protocol is a necessity! And Lord Sesshoumaru knows everything!" she rounded off, throwing her arms above her for emphasis.

Kagome and Sango couldn't help but smile at the child's dedication. For one who travelled with the taiyoukai Rin was unnaturally cheerful and optimistic and Kagome wondered what life on the road with Sesshoumaru was like for her. She couldn't imagine the ruthless ruler and warrior as a compassionate teacher, but, and though she was a sweet-tempered child by nature, Rin was surprisingly polite and considerate, not to mention capable of reading and writing, which was rare in this age. Where she came from none of them knew, and how she came under Sesshoumaru's guidance was an even bigger mystery, but she seemed to have been living a very good life, despite being continuously on the move.

"Maybe Myoga should go with you," Sango said, returning to the matter at hand.

"No, you guys need him here to guide you. Toutousai isn't going to accompany you this time."

"You're right…Fine then," a determined look came over the pretty face, "we have to make sure you know what you are getting into. What do you know about Inuyasha that will be of use while taking care of him?"

"Hmm…" she thought for a while. "The Inuyasha I know eats everything as long as it isn't curry, he doesn't sleep on an empty stomach, he can be very stubborn and he hates being sat. But that's when he was an adult. What did you do while you were raising Kirara?"

"Feed her, play with her, teach her important commands," Sango counted them on her fingers, "Oh! Grooming! You know; bathing and maintenance. That's very important for young youkai and hanyou."

Kagome groaned. Grooming? Adult Inuyasha only took a bath once a week and hated combing his hair. Considering that he was now a pup…This was going to be tougher than any trig test she had ever taken.

"Lord Sesshoumaru loves bathing."

Both teens turned wide eyes to Rin on that.

"He does?" Kagome questioned at which the small girl nodded.

"Every night before bed time. He makes Rin take her bath first and then Rin stays with Jaken so that Lord Sesshoumaru can go bathe. And when Lord Sesshoumaru comes back from bathing he always combs his hair, and sometimes he lets Rin comb his hair for him!" She withdrew something from the bag, holding it out. A silver comb, simple but elegant all the same. "Lord Sesshoumaru usually uses his fingers but when Rin comb his hair he lets Rin use this."

"He really trusts her," Sango whispered to Kagome, who accepted the comb. Rin went on searching through the bag, which apparently belonged to the youkai lord. "Grooming under youkai is a bonding thing. However, I have never heard of a youkai, especially one with as high a ranking as Sesshoumaru, allowing a human to groom him."

Kagome nodded. This also brought to light something that they had foolishly overlooked.

"Rin?" she addressed the girl who looked up from her rummaging. "Can you tell me more about Sesshoumaru?"

"He's really nice."

She fought the urge to snort. Out of them all, Rin was the only one who dealt with the youkai lord on a daily basis so it was only fair to believe her on such matters, despite them being more than a bit...out there.

"Is he?"

"Well, other people and youkai are really afraid of him, and he doesn't talk a lot, but he helped Rin when Rin was hurt really bad and he takes care of Rin. Lord Sesshoumaru had new clothes made for Rin too." She held out her arms to show them the indeed pricy looking yukata she was wearing. "And Lord Sesshoumaru makes sure that Rin doesn't get hungry or too cold and…and when Rin has nightmares he holds Rin and makes them go away."

...Whoa. Kagome was beginning to wonder if the girl possessed some magical powers of her own. Or was this perhaps a side of Sesshoumaru no one else would ever see...? Nah, Rin must have bewitched him somehow.

"That sounds like you and Inuyasha."

"What!" she yelped, turning to Sango.

"Think about it, Kagome. Inuyasha can be very cold and distant towards others, but when he's around you he's more sociable. You yourself told me how uncaring he was when you two first met; now he's willing to risk his life for you."

How was it that the youkai exterminator always picked up on these things so quickly?

"Er, what else can you tell us, Rin?" she continued, not wanting to delve too deep into that. "I can't look after him if I don't know his customs."

"Customs?"

"His habits," Sango explained. "What does he like to do? When does he sleep? What does he eat? Things like that."

"Oh...um..." she placed a finger on her chin in thought. "Lord Sesshoumaru doesn't sleep a lot. He usually stays awake, even when Rin is sleeping beside him. He told Rin once that he did it because he was watching over us."

Kagome was beginning to grow a soft spot for the demon lord, despite herself. Cruel assassin and wannabe sibling slayer aside, it sounded like he'd make an excellent father.

"And Lord Sesshoumaru doesn't eat."

"Huh?"

"He lets Rin find food to eat for Rin but he never eats anything. Sometime she brings Rin and Jaken a deer or something big to eat. Rin tried cooking some for him but Lord Sesshoumaru doesn't eat human food."

"Why not?"

She shrugged.

"When Rin met Lord Sesshoumaru he was in a forest and really hurt and he couldn't move much. Rin tried to help him and brought him food but he didn't eat anything. He told Rin that he didn't eat human food. Rin was afraid that he'd get sick from not eating but he got better and when Rin went to look for him he was gone…"

A strange glaze appeared in the usually clear eyes as something seemed to be troubling her.

"Is something wrong?" Sango asked when she fell silent.

"Sometimes…Rin remembers things…The village attacked by wolves…"

"Wolves?" Kagome asked before gasping. Wolves...attacking a village...their group finding the mauled bodies of the villagers before they met...No, it couldn't be…

"Rin had just gotten back home from seeing Lord Sesshoumaru and she found a strange man in her hut. He was trying to escape from other youkai. They found him. There were a lot of wolves too. There was a leader…and all the wolves listened to him. He had black hair like so."

She gathered her own hair into a high ponytail.

"Kouga," Sango breathed to Kagome.

"He…He killed the strange youkai and told the wolves to eat everyone in the village…"

Both miko and exterminator recalled the carnage they had found that they when they first met Kouga. The bodies of terrified villagers strewn on the ground, blood and flesh everywhere.

"Do you remember what happened next?" Kagome asked the girl, who looked to be getting paler by the minute.

"Rin ran away…Rin was so scared…Everyone was screaming and dying…Rin was trying to get to Sesshoumaru-sama, but she couldn't find him anywhere...There was no one…Rin ran and ran…and the wolves were following her…"

Kagome felt her throat tighten.

"…And then…and then they jumped and started biting…It hurt so badly…Rin cried and cried and one of the wolves bit Rin-chan here," she touched her throat, "And then everything went black."

"By the gods," Sango said, absorbed in the story.

"It was cold. Rin remembers feeling very cold. And lonely…but then…" A smile broke through the haunted look. "But then Rin felt warm again. When Rin opened her eyes Lord Sesshoumaru was holding her and he was warm. He was feeling better. He made Rin feel better too. And he let Rin go with him, away from the village and the wolves. And he protects Rin from everything!"

Cheered considerably by the memory, she continued her search through the bag.

"Sango, do you think…" Kagome whispered.

"The wolves killed her, and Sesshoumaru brought her back to life using Tenseiga."

"But why did he? He's never shown any interest in using Tenseiga before."

"It has all to do with his upbringing."

Toutousai had entered the hut, shuffling over to the three girls, his sharp hearing picking up on the string of their soft conversation. Sitting down cross-legged, he laid his long hammer on his lap.

"What do you mean?" Kagome asked.

"Sesshoumaru. He is exactly what he was raised to be. Inutaisho-sama raised his son just as he had been. Inu-youkai are infamous for their strict upbringing. Being the heir to his father's lands meant that Sesshoumaru was expected to represent the inu-youkai in all their strength and haughtiness, and he does. To humans, and even other youkai, Sesshoumaru may seem cold and even cruel, but to the inu-youkai he is the epitome of perfection. Inu-youkai are by nature ruthless and indifferent to others, but very loyal and protective to those they care for."

"Is that so..." Kagome muttered, thinking it through. When looked upon in that light, Sesshoumaru was indeed a prime member of the species. "Do you mean that his father was just like him?"

"And then some. However, Lord Inutaisho, bless him, had one weakness: he cared for humans. He loved Inuyasha's mother dearly and protected humans within his domain. However, this was considered degrading by other inu-youkai. Inutaisho acknowledged his failure as their lord and so, in order to prevent future fights, he raised Sesshoumaru to hate humans. For his love of his son, he didn't want Sesshoumaru to be subjected to the same problems as he was. Izayoi wasn't even allowed anywhere near his palace as he didn't want Sesshoumaru to have any contact with humans. Nonetheless, caring for humans has proven to be something hereditary and if you ask me such dedication is a strength, not a weakness."

"Eh!"

In tumbled a white-haired ball of energy, hopping around a much more collected pup, who eyed the interior of the hut curiously before a light push from Kaede urged him further in to allow the rest to enter. Inuyasha stayed close to his brother, crouching in mock attacks, trying to gauge the older youkai to play with him though for now Sesshoumaru seemed too intent on his surroundings to notice the excited hanyou.

"That's so unlike him," Miroku noted, taking a seat with the rest though keeping an eye on the silent pup. "Why is he so wary?"

"Instincts," Myoga spoke up from where he was sitting on top of Shippo's head. "Young youkai have a natural inkling to always be on the look-out for dangers. Many pups don't survive their first century; predators and rival species hunt them to either eat them or kill them to weaken their clan. I recall Sesshoumaru having more than his share of close encounters with death at the fangs and claws of other youkai despite Inutaisho's diligent protection."

"Are you done packing, child?" Kaede asked, pushing away Inuyasha as he tried to pull her ponytail. "It is for the best if you return to your time as soon as possible."

"Yeah, I think I've got everything."

"Here," Rin said, holding out a burlap bag. "These are Lord Sesshoumaru's favourite things. He'll like having them with him, even if he doesn't really remember them."

"Okay," Kagome nodded, accepting the offered bag and placing it in her own larger one. Standing, she sighed before looking over the assembled group. "Well, I guess it's time we got going."

Everyone nodded, rising to their feet too before filing out of the small hut, making their way to the Bone Eaters well located just outside the village. At least, they tried to but Inuyasha was having other ideas.

"Nh-nh!" he protested when Kagome tried to pick him up to prevent him from scampering off.

"Inuyasha, behave!" she pleaded to no avail.

"Perhaps it _would_ be best if we kept him here," Miroku whispered to Sango, who nodded.

"Come on Inuyasha! Please?"

"Nh-nh-nh-nh-nh-NH!"

Flattening his snowy-white ears, he bared his teeth and before she could even react he snapped, fangs clicking together loudly, just missing her arm though startling her enough to drop him. Victorious, he ran off on all fours, heading for the trees.

"Inuyasha! No! Come back here!" Before she could even think it through she did the first thing that came to mind: "Inuyasha, sit!"

**WHAM**

"...Oh no!" she cried, covering her mouth as the dust settled.

"Kagome…" Sango sighed, shaking her head.

"I'm sorry! It slipped!"

Running to where the small pup lay in the dirt, she felt her eyes start to sting. Did she hurt him? How much could his little body take? Adult Inuyasha could easily survive being sat from off the ledge of a cliff; but now he was just a baby!

To her relief the hanyou sat up, sneezing out clots of dirt. Apart from his fire-rat coat being covered in sand he was unharmed though he looked up at her advancing form with wide eyes, lower lip quivering.

"Oh no, please don't-"

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"-cry."

Tears streaming, Inuyasha bawled loud for all to hear, hiccupping through sniffs and sobs.

"You poor thing; I'm so sorry!" she swore, dropping to her knees and pulling him into a hug though it didn't help much. Finally he looked up though something behind her brought a smile to his tear-stained face.

"Eh-ou!"

Sure enough, Sesshoumaru was peeking over her shoulder to see what was ailing the hanyou. Startled at first to meet those usually cold eyes so close, Kagome released Inuyasha and he happily crawled off her lap to wrap his arms around his brother's legs. For a while it seemed that the youkai was going to leave him there but then he picked up the smaller pup. Inuyasha crowed with delight, settling for hugging his brother's neck.

"Eh-ou!" he told Kagome happily, nuzzling the silent pup's unmarked cheek.

"Yes, that's Sesshoumaru," she smiled. Bringing Sesshoumaru along was indeed the best thing to do. If he could pass through the well, that is.

"Learn to control you habits, Kagome," Kaede said as they walked on.

"I'll be more careful from now on. I promise," she said, feeling disappointed.

They were silent for a few yards before Miroku, who was carrying her bike, offered her a broad smile.

"I guess you redefined 'baby-sitting' with that, huh?"

They broke out in small giggles though the brunt of the joke didn't even notice, happily chattering to his brother, who was still carrying him. Every bird and insect drew Inuyasha's wide eyes and he pointed excitedly in every direction though not once did he struggle to go down, very content with being with his big brother. Sesshoumaru looked in the directions his kin pointed but didn't seem as intrigued by such simple things.

"Rin?" Shippo called back, looking behind him to where the girl was walking with Ah Un, the dragon-beast's reigns in her hands.

"Yes?"

"Why is Sesshoumaru wearing one of your yukata?"

"Um…" A deep blush crept onto her cheeks. "Lord Sesshoumaru's clothes didn't fit him anymore so…um…Rin had to dress him in one of hers."

For the girl's sake they curbed their giggles. Indeed, a naked Sesshoumaru, even as a pup, must have been quite a shock for her.

"There it is!" Shippo said suddenly, drawing all their attention off the blushing girl. Sure enough, the old well was right before them, looking as neglected and ramshackle as ever.

The first thing in was her bike, followed by her knapsack. Content, she turned to the others, smiling nervously.

"I really hope you find that mononoke," she said, watching out of the corner of her eyes as both inu-pups leaned over the side of the well to peer inside. "Hopefully it won't be too hard."

"Yes, and I think I speak for us all when I say that the same goes for you," Miroku replied, watching her make a sudden lunge to prevent Inuyasha from toppling headfirst into the well, catching him just in time. "We'll do our best and move as fast as possible."

"So should I come back within one week? Just to check up?"

"I'll be in the village," Kaede nodded, Myoga jumping on her shoulder.

"And I'll travel back and forth to bring her the latest news!"

"Thank you, Myoga. And you too, Toutousai," she said to the ancient sword-maker.

"Look after them well, Kagome. If anything happens to either of them it could be disaster for these lands."

"Wow, that's encouraging."

"I'm serious. Without Inuyasha and Tesseiga Naraku stands a greater chance of winning and without Sesshoumaru's leadership the Western lands could fall into tribal war. Both brothers are vital to this day and age."

She nodded.

"I'll do my best, because I care for Inuyasha. And because I made a promise to Rin."

The girl smiled brightly at that. Walking over to the silent pup, she smiled at him, which made him tilt his head to one side. Wrapping her arms around her guardian, Rin sniffed.

"Be good, Lord Sesshoumaru. Rin will be waiting right here for you when you come back. And maybe Jaken too. Then we can go on travelling, alright? I'll miss you very, very, very, very much."

"Rin…" Sango consoled, kneeling beside her. "He will be just fine in Kagome's world."

Nodding, she released the pup, who watched her back away with a confused look and was about to follow her when Kagome's voice got his attention.

"Sesshoumaru," she called softly, sitting on the ledge of the well, one arm wrapped around Inuyasha, who was actually still, big eyes watching the well in anticipation. Perhaps he remembered going through it before? Holding out her hand, she beckoned the mini-lord over.

Sesshoumaru looked at her hand, then Rin, then her hand again.

"It's okay," she said. "Come with me and Inuyasha."

He looked back at Rin one final time, then at the sky for some reason, but finally he took the necessary step that brought him within arms' reach. Leaning down, Kagome lifted him by the waist, pulling him onto her lap. It really felt strange, holding such a feared youkai like this despite the innocent eyes looking about anxiously.

"I'll be back within a week," she called back to the others. "Good luck!"

"Sayonara, Kagome!" Sango called, waving with one hand while the other held Rin's. Behind them stood Kirara and Ah Un, the large beast nuzzling Rin's face to comfort her. She too waved, eyes teary.

"Be very careful with them. Keep them out of trouble, especially Inuyasha!" Shippo shouted from atop Miroku's head. "And bring back some candy next time!"

"I will!" she swore and with a final glance she slid herself off into the well, carrying both pups with her. Already the blue aura that was the time barrier was beginning to envelop them.

Just then she heard Toutousai's voice.

"Argh! Kagome, I forgot to tell you something about Sesshoumaru! At this age he…"

The voice was lost as she fell back into her time. She frowned, trying to make out his warning but dual grips on her uniform reminded her of her new charges, who held on tightly, burying their face in her chest as the strange lights and feelings overwhelmed them. Holding them closer, she closed her eyes and waited until the transaction was complete.

Would Sesshoumaru be there when she opened them again? Or would he had been left behind in the past, at the bottom of the well, alone and confused?

Solid ground met her feet and all motion stop, the world behind her closed eyelids darkening as the blue lights faded. Soon a familiar scent of stuffy mould and wood assailed her nose and she knew she was back in the old well house, in her time. Hesitantly, she opened her eyes.

"Eh?" Inuyasha exclaimed, popping his head up to take in the new sight and smell.

Kagome sighed when a second head rose from where it had been buried in her blouse. Golden eyes blinked disoriented before they focused onto her.

"Welcome to the future, Sesshoumaru," she announced cheerfully.

"Oh! Kagome! Is that you?" Grandpa's voice called out, his head peeking down from above. "Ha! I knew these beads worked! I've been here for two days using them to summon you back!"

"Uh, that is amazing, grandpa, but can you help me out of here?"

"Sure, I'll get a ladder," he said, not yet noticing her companions.

"Keh! Da!" Inuyasha shouted, pointing up to what he knew was the way out.

"Yes, we're going there," she assured.

"Nh! Da aba ne!"

"You sure have a lot to say, don't you?"

"Eh-ou! Da! Keh!"

Rolling her eyes fondly, she looked down at Sesshoumaru, who was still watching her, eyes bright but strangely solemn.

"What's wrong?" she asked. "Do you want to tell me something?"

After a long pause the pup shook his head, much to her surprise. While he had shown signs of listening to others the youkai pup hadn't responded like this before. Perhaps, with enough time, she could coach him out a bit.

"Everything's going to be just fine. This is my home. You're safe here."

He looked around the dingy well sceptically, proving that he understood her...Kinda.

"No, _this_ is not my house. When my grandpa gets us out of here I'll take you there."

"Keh!"

"And you too, Inuyasha."

"Kagome, who are you talking too down there?"

A ladder was lowered, quickly touching down on the floor.

"You'll see!" she shouted back up. Eyeing both pups in her arms she weighed her dilemma: how was she going to get up?

"Can you climb, Sesshoumaru?" she asked him, pointing with her chin up the ladder. He studied the contraption before shifting slightly in her grip. Taking this as a sign, she lowered him. He touched the iron rung experimentally, looking back at her.

"Yes, go up. I'll be right behind you with Inuyasha."

Debating it, he released the ladder, clearly not trusting it.

"Sesshoumaru, how else are you going to get out of here?"

His response was silent yet clear. Crouching down onto his haunches, he focused on the ledge high above them and leapt up with a tall bound, startling her and delighting Inuyasha.

"GAH!" grandpa shouted from above when Sesshoumaru landed perfectly on the wooden ledge. "Demon! Be gone!"

"Calm down, jii-chan!" she shouted, climbing up with one hand. "Don't touch him!"

"I shall eliminate this youkai with my holy powers!"

"Great Buddha, give me strength," she muttered, reaching the top just in time to see her grandfather fling sticky o-fuda at the startled youkai.

Yeah, this was going to be a piece of cake.

Tbc…

* * *

Read Review, please.


	5. A Blast From The Past

Title: Puppy 101

Authoress: Ladya C. Maxine

Rating: T

Summary: see chapter one

Warnings: see chapter one

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of its characters. Any and all unrecognizable characters belong solely to me and are not to be touched. I am not making any money off of this and I write with the sole intention to entertain.

* * *

"Honestly…" Kagome muttered under her breath, carefully removing the gooey parchment from the white mane as painlessly as possible. "Why are they so wet?"

"A secret ointment I made myself," jii-chan said proudly. "It moulds the holy o-fuda onto the youkai and penetrates till deep in the body."

Kagome sniffed the clear substance which coated the o-fuda. She then shot a tired look at the old man who still stood alertly, o-fuda at hand and ready to throw should the two small beings sitting around his granddaughter make any sudden moves. He had nothing to worry about. Inuyasha, fascinated by the sticky pieces of paper which covered his brother, watched on as Kagome, kneeling before the still shaken mini-lord, removed them, pulling them from his white mane and pale skin.

"Jii-chan, this is glue," Kagome identified the 'secret ointment'.

"Ah…ingredients were a bit different in my days," he mumbled, scratching the back of his head.

Kagome rolled her eyes and pulled at one of the o-fuda a bit too hard, causing Sesshoumaru to wince as it pulled out a few silvery strands.

"Oh! Sorry, Sesshoumaru," she quickly said, stroking the somewhat tangled mane gently. "Almost finish."

Inuyasha curiously poked at one of the many o-fuda littering the floor and yelped in surprise when it stuck to his finger. Flailing his arm wildly, he attempted to shake it off, rolling and tumbling about as he growled at his foe.

"Inuyasha, calm down!" Kagome eased though she couldn't touch him as her hands were covered with glue. "It's not going to hurt you."

"Eh-ou! EH-OUOUOU!" the hanyou wailed. "Iki debu ne! Keh!"

"Ooh, his true demon nature is coming forth!" jii-chan cried out, pulling even more o-fuda from a jar at hand. "I shall restrain it with my holy powers!"

"Don't you even dare!" Kagome threatened. Sesshoumaru was at least placid; getting these things off Inuyasha would be nothing short of a nightmare. "Inuyasha, come here."

"Pata neeeee! Eh-ou!" The youngest brother turned to his sibling, distressed that the scary wet thing would no release his finger. Holding out the 'captured' digit towards the bigger pup, he whined pitifully. "Nie da!"

Sesshoumaru stared at the now brown o-fuda clinging limply to the small finger before he reached out and calmly pulled it off. However, now it was on to him. Using his other hand he pealed it off, but it then stuck to that one as well.

Seeing his older brother's predicament, Inuyasha flattened his puppy-ears and growled a warning to the unimpressed piece of paper. Moving as fast as he could, he swipe it off Sesshoumaru's hand…and it stuck to his palm once more.

"Eeeeeeeeeeeeee!" he wailed in dismay, shaking his hand about furiously.

This cycle went on for quite some time; the brothers trying to rid the other of the o-fuda only to fall victim to its sticky evilness. Still, it kept them occupied long enough for Kagome to finish removing the last o-fuda from Sesshoumaru's mane, stifling her laugher at their antics. The simple fact that they were showing care for one another was already enough to make her giddy. They were just such a cute pair!

"There," she said victoriously, crumpling the last o-fuda into a ball and tossing it over her shoulder. Finding pity on the ailing pups, she plucked the pesky paper, which had somehow managed to attach itself to one of Inuyasha's ears. The pup yipped at the slight tug but was pleased to be rid of his assailant. Wiping her hands clean, Kagome gave Sesshoumaru's hair a worried look.

"You're going to need a bath," She really hoped that she could get it all out; the Lord of the Western Lands would not be all too happy if he were to return back to his adult body, and mind, and find his silvery mane a solid clump. He hated them as it was already.

"Oooh, I have the perfect thing!" Jii-chan exclaimed, turning to pull something from a crate nearby. "Holy water! You need to boil it and it will wash away all the evil youki!"

"Uh, jii-chan," Kagome sweat dropped, "wouldn't bathing them in boiling hot water be painful to them?"

"You're right," he nodded, stroking his sic. "Ah! Prayer beads! I"

"Jii-chan, just drop it! You are **_not_** going to purify, banish or perform an exorcist on them, alright? I brought them here to keep them safe until the other find the mononoke responsible for putting this prank-spell on them."

Looking somewhat crestfallen, he stared remorsefully at his home made youkai exterminating kit.

"Can I just destroy the little one?"

"Jii-chan! Leave Inuyasha alone!"

"Inuyasha?" he blinked before squinting at the small pup. "Oooh! It's you!"

"What?!" Kagome's mouth dropped. "Didn't you recognize him?"

"Hummmm," he knelt down before the pup, waving a hand over the perplexed hanyou and humming. "Oooh, I feel very strong youki. A spell was cast upon him."

"Uh, yeah. That's what I said."

"Hummmm. I sense that it was done by a mononoke…as a prank."

Burying her head in a hand, Kagome counted to three.

"And the mononoke responsible for this spell is…her!"

All three time travellers turned to look behind them, trying to spot what he was pointing at before realizing that the object of his accusation was Sesshoumaru.

"Jii-chan," Kagome started but he cut in.

"I feel the powers of a great sorceress! A witch of evil powers! My holy o-fuda were rendered useless by her youki; I must destroy her before she unleashes her wrath upon us! Mankind's fate rests in my old but wise palms! I must save my brothers and sisters from this terror! Mua-hahahahahahaha!"

Unimpressed, she sighed and rose to her feet, picking up the pups, who both watched the raving shrine-keeper with wide eyes.

"Hahaha...Oi! Don't let them leave the holy well house!"

"Jii-chan, I'm only going to say this once. These are not evil youkai's, not sorceresses, not children of the apocalypse! This is Inuyasha and this is his _brother_ Sesshoumaru. They've been put under a spell that turned them into pups. It's going to be hard enough as it is taking care of them without you trying to protect the world. Please behave, jii-chan?"

He ruffled his forehead but finally nodded, unable to deny his beloved granddaughter this. Still, the temptation was too great…

"The Higurashi shrine is legendary for its healing powers! I'm sure I have something in the storage room that will lift this spell!"

"Jii-chan…" she started but he was already out the door, excitedly chattering about charms and roots. Looking down at the two pups who stared back up at her, she sighed.

"Might as well get you guys cleaned up before he banishes you to the abyss."

"Uba nedo! Baka! Keh!"

"Yes, he can be pretty foolish at times," she agreed to the hanyou's gibberish opinion. "Come on. Let's go."

Winter was coming up, much to her surprise. Travelling between different ages made it hard to keep track of weather and seasons. Still, if the chilly air wasn't a clear indication that Christmas season was coming up then the red and yellow leaves which barely clung to the branches was a dead give-away. How long had she been in the feudal age anyways?

Inuyasha crowed with delight and she knew that, somehow, he recognized the place. Sesshoumaru however was tense in her arms; this strange new world with all its foreign smells and sights both awed and frightened him. The golden eyes studied all, from the electrical lanterns and modern architecture of the house to the bicycle rack and panoramic view of the city below. He even jumped at the sound of her pushing the front door open with her feet.

The homely smell of cooking greeted them and Kagome took a deep breath, sighing contently. More balancing was needed to remove her shoes with her toes but again she succeeded.

"I'm home!"

"Welcome home, Kagome!" mama's voice called from the kitchen. "We weren't expecting you back so soon."

"Some…change of plans," she answered and debated for a moment before deciding to put Sesshoumaru down as he was more likely to not run off, as Inuyasha was clearly want to.

"Sis!" Souta came bounding down the stairs, hopping them two at a time. "Wanna go to the park with me for some football? We…" He trailed off as he caught sight of the newcomers. "Um…Inuyasha?"

"At least you recognize him," Kagome muttered.

"Kagome, is everything alright?" mama asked, coming around the corner to see what was holding her daughter up. Her eyes widened at the sight of the pups. "Oh my, who have we here?"

"Well, you know Inuyasha," she nodded to the pup in her arms who had taken an interest in the rest of her family, openly staring at Souta and mama before squealing in recognition.

"Tapi bo adada! Keh!" he greeted, clapping little hands excitedly.

"What happened to him?" mama asked, stepping forward for a closer look but movement at Kagome's feet got her attention as Sesshoumaru backed off from the stranger. Crouching down to eye-level, she frowned at the matted strands of otherwise near sparkling hair. "What happened to her?"

"Grandpa's what happened," Kagome answered before the rest caught up. "It's a _he_, mama! Inuyasha's older brother, Sesshoumaru."

"He looks like a girl," Souta insisted though obviously transfixed with the idea of having his idol's older brethren with them. "Inuyasha mentioned him once. Is he really strong? I bet he can't jump as high as Inuyasha."

"What happened to them?" mama asked again, lightly touching a pointed ear but Sesshoumaru recoiled, hiding behind Kagome's legs.

"You see—"

"Are they going to stay with us?" Souta cut in.

"Yes, but—"

"Why is Inuyasha only wearing his haori?" mama asked.

"Because—"

"Can I bring them to school tomorrow for show-and-tell?"

"No, listen—"

"I found it!" Grandpa shouted, standing in the doorway with several scrolls held above his head victoriously. "I can still save the world!"

"Listen to me!"

Everyone shut up at her sudden shout. Inuyasha, who was still in her arms and thus close to her mouth, flattened his sensitive ears while his brother backed away from her, no longer so sure if it was safe even with her. Breathing deeply, she nodded to herself before addressing her family.

"This is Inuyasha. That is Sesshoumaru. A mononoke put a spell on them back in the Feudal Age. Since it was too dangerous to keep them there I've brought them here with me until the culprit is caught. Get it?"

They nodded.

"Now, first of all, you will _not_ perform any type of holy powers on them, grandpa. Period. Am I clear?"

He grumbled, lowering the scrolls dejectedly but surrendering.

"And you," she spun on Souta who gulped. "They are not to be used in class projects and you are to tell _no one_ about them. Alright?"

He nodded quickly.

"But Kagome," mama, all too used to her daughter's moods and capable of handling them, said, "how will you be able to take care of them and your schoolwork?"

"I…um…"

"Souta, finish your homework. Oto, set the table for me and check on the meat."

The men of the house grumbled at the unfairness of it all but did as they were told all the same. Alone, Mrs. Higurashi sighed, thoughtfully studying the pups who returned the stare.

"Mama, I'm sorry, but I couldn't just leave them; it's too dangerous in that time and our enemies would try to kill them."

"I understand, dear, and I by no means disapprove of your decision. However, you really should think things fully through. Monday you have to go to school. Don't you have exams the week before winter holiday?"

"Oh no…" she moaned. How could she forget! The exams were so important, and so difficult! There was no way she could study properly with the brothers under her care. She was in dire need of study time, and she had to go to school to try and catch up as much as possible. By the looks of things she was going to have to beg her friends to borrow their notes once again. Maybe Hojo-kun would help her…

"You can't afford to miss another day of school, Kagome. You know I support you in your decisions but this is one time that I have to put my foot down."

"But…" She sighed, unconsciously hugging Inuyasha closer. "What am I going to do with them?"

"What am I, bad sushi?" her mother laughed lightly. "I will look after them for you, dear."

"Are you sure? I mean, you have your job and they…well, they're youkai."

"My job I can handle. And while I admit that I have never dealt with youkai, I did raise you and your brother and I still take care of you all, including father. And _that_ has got to count for something."

"Thank you, mama," she smiled, relieved.

"Now," Mrs. Higurashi placed her hands on her hips, looking between the two brothers though Inuyasha squirmed, drawing her eyes on him to give her a wide grin.

"Neko bah uda fru!"

"Is that so?" she smiled, which encouraged the hanyou on.

"Feh! Darada buyi tototo!" He held out his arms and she took him from her daughter. The hanyou immediately began sniffing her hear before becoming transfixed on her earrings. "Iki ba! Keh!"

Mrs. Higurashi laughed.

"Does he recognize me?"

"I'm not sure," Kagome admitted, belatedly shrugging off her jacket to drape it over the couch back. "He seems to vaguely remember things but he's pretty much his past self."

"Ne!"

"Yes you are," she teased the hanyou, who shook his head, even though he had no idea what the discussion was about.

"Ne!"

"Yes."

"Ne!"

"Yes!"

"Eh-ou! Didi me akoi bubu!"

"You certainly have a lot to say," mama commented before turning to Sesshoumaru who stood somewhat apart, not too comfortable with the lively group. "But you're so silent. Is he injured?"

"No," Kagome sighed, "Sesshoumaru is not the most talk-active youkai around. I…You see, mama, he and Inuyasha don't get along as adults. In fact, well, Sesshoumaru usually tries to kill Inuyasha, and vice versa, whenever they meet. They're half-brothers and their father left each of them a sword but Sesshoumaru is always trying to take Inuyasha's sword because he hated Inuyasha because Inuyasha's a hanyou and Sesshoumaru hates hanyou's and humans, he's a full-blooded youkai, and he blames Inuyasha and Inuyasha's mother for their father's death but it's kinda strange because Sesshoumaru has adopted a little human girl called Rin and looks after and protected her so I guess he isn't all that evil."

Her mother and the two pups blinked at the end of her lengthy story and she sweat-dropped.

"It's pretty complicated," she shrugged.

"So you have quite a tale then, don't you?" mama smiled. "Well, I've just finished making dinner so let's eat. All this excitement must have made you all hungry."

* * *

"Chew your food, Inuyasha," Kagome warned, patting his back as he choked on the piece of pork he had tried to swallow whole. Looking up from her task she saw that Sesshoumaru hadn't touched anything on his plate. "Try it, Sesshoumaru. It's yummy." Picking up her chop sticks she popped a piece of meat in her mouth. "See? Mmmm."

For a brief moment she saw a familiar glint in the older pup's eyes that clearly was an early version of what would later be the youkai lord's infamous disdainful look. Sesshoumaru was not going to touch this human food, period.

"Can I have his ice-cream?"

Rolling her eyes at Souta, Kagome rested her chin in her palm, debating this dilemma. There was no way that Sesshoumaru _didn't_ eat. Inuyasha is, or was, or…whatever, two hundred years old, according to Myoga. Sesshoumaru was far older than his brother; during those centuries he must have eaten something!

'Think! He's a youkai! What do youkai eat?'

From the youkai she personally knew she had never seen them show any particular taste in food. Shippou liked berries, fish, rice balls and candy. Kirara was a strict carnivore but Sango always cooked her meat before feeding it to her. Inuyasha, half youkai, ate everything except curie. Who else…Kouga! He was wilder than the rest and she recalled the massive piles of bones in his clan's den. Did they eat their meals raw?

She shuddered. Raw meat? Ew! Still, if that's what it took to get Sesshoumaru to eat…

"Mama, is there any pork left in the kitchen?"

"There's enough in the pot, dear."

"No, um, is there any _raw_ pork left?"

Mama thought for a moment before nodding. Jumping to her feet, Kagome left the table, much to everyone's confusion, but quickly returned with the bowl containing the pinkish pork, nose wrinkled at the smell.

"Sis…?" Souta asked with much trepidation. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to get him to eat," she answered, kneeling beside Sesshoumaru and placing the bowl before him.

Everyone watched, except Inuyasha, who was still intent on his own meal, as Sesshoumaru peered into the bowl. Sniffing the content, he reached in and experimentally poked the pink mass. Still, he made no move to eat it. In fact, after more staring, he pushed the bowl back towards her.

"He won't eat it," Kagome lamented needlessly, sitting back on her heels.

"I don't blame him."

"If he doesn't eat anything, Souta, he'll starve," she glowered at her brother who 'eeped' and scooted closer to mama. "He doesn't want cooked meat. He doesn't want raw meat. I don't know what else to try!"

"Meow?"

Buyo slinked into the kitchen, rotund belly jiggling as he made his way towards them, ready to start begging for table scraps.

"Not now, Buyo," Kagome said only to feel the hairs on the back of her neck raise at a low growl next to her.

Sesshoumaru's golden eyes were fixed squarely on the family pet with what could have been a baleful or, scarier, a hungry look.

"W-What's he doing?" Souta stuttered.

"Um…I think he sees Buyo as a meal."

"WHAT?!" Souta cried.

The sound, combined with the youkai's searing look, startled Buyo and the cat streaked out of the room. The sight of the feline running triggered something in Sesshoumaru who leapt to his feet and over the table within a blink of the eye, snarling as he raced after to fat cat.

"Sesshoumaru, NO!" Kagome shouted, stumbling to her feet to follow pup, Souta on her heals, calling Buyo's name. From the rooms beyond the sound of furniture being overturned and valuable breaking only added to the chaos.

The kitchen was silent, mama and grandpa Higurashi blinking at the now empty seats around them, trying to make sense of it all. A small burp reminded them of the youngest pup from the past as Inuyasha finished slurping off the rest of his soup, a task which had had him distracted for the past few minutes. Putting his bowl down, he wiped his mouth off on his large sleeve. Only then did he notice the missing people, including his brother.

"Eh-ou?" he asked, looking around for his sibling. His concern was derailed by the sight of his serving of ice-cream which he had previously overlooked. Giving to dining room one more survey, he concluded that his brother was not there and plunged face-first into the ice-cream, noisily gobbling it up.

"Inuyasha, don't eat your ice-cream so fast," Mrs. Higurashi warned. "You'll get-"

"Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!"

"-brain-freeze."

"…Can I banish him now?"

Sighing, she plucked the o-fuda from her father's hand before he could do anything stupid, as usual. So much for a nice, quiet family reunion; Grandpa grumbling beside her, Inuyasha wailing the roof down nearby and from somewhere upstairs she heard Kagome yelp, followed by the thump of something being turned over.

"Please put the plates in the sink for me, father," she asked, getting to her feet to pick up the crying hanyou. Leaving the old man to his devices, for now, she made her way to the commotion upstairs, passing the disaster which had once been the living room with a wince. Why were some of the furniture sizzling beneath strange green stains?

"I think Kagome forgot to tell me a few things about you brother," she said to Inuyasha who sniffed, watery eyes peering over her shoulder at the damage.

TBC…

* * *

Read & Review, please.


	6. Rub A Dub Dub

Title: Puppy 101

Authoress: Ladya C. Maxine

Rating: G

Summary: see chapter one

Warnings: see chapter one

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of its characters. Any and all unrecognizable characters belong solely to me and are not to be touched. I am not making any money off of this and I write with the sole intention to entertain.

A/N: A lot of readers asked me what Inuyasha's saying. For the record: it's **not** Japanese (Hell, I don't even **know** Japanese, save for a few words). Nah, it's just baby talk with maybe a couple of complete words in it like 'baka'. Also, adult Inuyasha says 'Feh' but I changed it to 'Keh' for his puppy form (I just think its cuter). And lastly, when Inuyasha says 'Eh-ou' he's referring to Sesshoumaru. You know how kids have the habit of (drastically) altering/shortening names to make pronunciation easier for them; Inuyasha's no exception.

* * *

"Bad puppy! Bad, bad puppy!" Kagome scolded, wagging a finger at the small youkai sitting on her bed. "No chasing of Buyo from now on, okay?"

Sesshoumaru didn't look up, sitting on his heels with a shamed look on his face.

Oh who was she kidding? She couldn't stay mad at him.

"We'll think of something," she offered, sitting on the edge of the mattress. "I'm sure there's something in my time that you'll like, besides our family pet. Do you like chicken?"

Nothing.

"How about steak?"

Nada.

"…Fish?"

Zip.

Something was bothering the pup, though. She could tell. Food aside.

"Sesshoumaru, is there something you want to tell me?"

Looking up from where he had been tracing the patterns on her quilt with a small claw, he looked uncertain for a moment.

"It's alright," she encouraged. "You can talk to me."

Lowering his eyes again, he nodded solemnly.

"Is it something to eat?"

He shook his head.

"Did you lose something?"

He considered it before nodding.

"Then maybe we can find it," she offered. 'I'll help you look for it. Do you know where you lost it?"

No.

"Do you know when you lost it?"

When he shook his head again she started to run out of options.

"Do you know **what** you lost?"

No…or was that a yes? The puppy was as confused as her. That was, until he spotted something on her nightstand.

Following his line of sight, she settled on the framed picture that leaned against her bedside lamp. She picked it up, wondering what it was about the picture that could have interested the pup. It was a vacation photo of her and her family in an amusement park. She and Souta were grinning widely while mama gave a thumps-up, jii-chan next to her and wearing a ridiculous souvenir hat.

"Did you lose a picture?"

No.

"What do you want?" she wondered out loud, unable to decipher the pup's silent dilemma.

Fiddling with the sleeve of his yukata, he eventually crawled over though kept some distance between them. Studying the image for a moment, he pointed to Mrs. Higurashi.

Kagome's eyes soften when she realized what the action implied.

"You want your mother?"

He nodded, staring longingly at the happy family.

She couldn't think of anything to say.

She shouldn't get too emotionally attached to the situation: once the spell was lifted and Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha back to their regular grown-up selves such matters will no longer important. Sesshoumaru's mother had passed away sometime before Inuyasha's birth. That was the only thing their group knew about the youkai lord's mysterious mother, thanks to Myoga who supplied the information though that was all he was willing to tell them.

'But Sesshoumaru was a teenager when Inuyasha was born…which means that his mother had been with him during his childhood…So now, in his current state of mind, he still believes her to be alive...'

"Um…your mother isn't here."

Oh Buddha, if she thought Inuyasha's beaten puppy-dog eyes undid her…She was near ready to cry at young Sesshoumaru's crestfallen face.

"She's not here because…because…she asked me to look after you."

Yes, Kagome lied, the only preventing her from feeling like a rotten person was the idea that Sesshoumaru wouldn't be like this forever. For now the best thing was to not make the pup upset about something he could never understand.

"She had something very, very, **very** important to do and…and it would be very boring for you so…um…so she came to my time and asked me to look after you…And Inuyasha." Well, it wasn't like he knew who Izayoi was; she didn't know if he recognized Inuyasha as a hanyou, but it was clear that he saw the younger pup as his kin. "She's going to be gone for a while, but she's coming back for you. She loves you a lot. She told me herself."

She didn't care if she was going to be punished in her other life for lying; the reassured look on Sesshoumaru's face was worth it. A small smile of relief graced the pup's lips and his eyes took on a much livelier radiance. It was the closest to joy she had ever seen the youkai expressed.

"Kagome? Can I come in?"

"Hai," she said, turning as the door to her bedroom opened.

Though it was her mother's voice that called out it was the bouncing being of Inuyasha who bubbled into the room. Mama followed much more sedately.

"Is everything okay?" she asked her daughter.

"For the most part, yes. Um…" she winced, "…about the living room…"

"Well, we're going have to buy some new drapes…and a new couch…and some carpet…and varnish…and cushions…But it isn't that bad!"

Actually, it was.

Kagome had come downstairs earlier, having guessed the extent of the damage but gasping all the same at the sight. Along with the aforementioned damages were also the television, salon table and an antique dresser where he mother kept her china set. While the damage ranged from small holes burned through the textures to large scorch marks, which still sizzled tendrils of white smoke, the overall scene downstairs wasn't as light as her mother would have her believe.

"I actually forgot about Sesshoumaru's poison," she admitted, staring at the youkai's hands. Though nowhere as long and sharp as she was used to, Sesshoumaru's claws were still more daunting than average finger nails. "I don't know if it's as potent as when he's an adult, but judging from the furniture…he could have seriously hurt Souta and me. I'm sorry, mama; I didn't think."

"I'm just happy that nothing happened to you or Souta…or Buyo, for that matter."

Buyo…Kagome doubted the cat was going to leave the sanctuary of her brother's room for quite some time.

"Don't worry about the living room, Kagome. If I were you I'd turn my attention to these two," mama smiled, watching as Inuyasha attempted to climb out the open window. Kagome quickly grabbed him, closing the window before putting him on her bed too.

A bit miffed, Inuyasha was quickly appeased when he noticed the springy nature of the surface he was sitting on. Bouncing on his knees a few times to test it, he got to his feet before proceeding to jump about, giggling gleefully at his new found fun.

Sesshoumaru watched his brother's antics silently, slightly jostled by the jumping but not joining in. That choice was taken away when Inuyasha caught sight of him.

"Eh-ou!" he squealed, bouncing like a tennis ball over to his sibling. "Gari bukikiki! Yah!"

Completing his sentence with a…battle cry…he sprung onto the other, throwing them both back onto the soft pillows. Sesshoumaru was soon pinned as his younger sibling perched himself on his stomach, chattering excitedly.

"I guess I shouldn't have given him candy," mama mused. "I felt so bad for him after the brain freeze that I gave him one of Souta's lollipops."

Great, as if the puppy wasn't energetic already. Experience had taught her that there was nothing worse than a hyperactive toddler.

"They need a bath," mama observed.

Except that.

"A bath?" Kagome squeaked.

"Grandfather said that you mentioned it when you came through the well."

"Oh…um…did I?"

Yikes.

"Is something wrong, Kagome?"

"No! No, nothing wrong at all!" she quickly covered up, smiling brightly. "I guess I'd better get them bathed and to bed since it's getting so late and it's a big day tomorrow."

"What do you mean?"

Pausing to rescue Inuyasha from the head lock his brother had wrestled him into, Kagome's eyes took on a much more gleeful shine.

"I'll need to go through Souta's old clothes; they need something to wear other than what they have now. And I wanted to take them out to the park too!"

"That sounds like fun," mama agreed. "Do you want me to come along; in case they get too much to handle?"

"No, I can do it," she said, finally prying the two tumbling pups off each other. Keeping Inuyasha in her arms, she got to her feet. "Follow me, Sesshoumaru."

Obeying silently, he slipped off the bed though froze. The full moon stood high in the sky in all its silver glory and it captivated the older youkai. The two women watched him and Kagome wondered what the connection was; the crescent moon on Sesshoumaru's brow had always mystified her since Inutaisho never had such a marking, meaning his son had inherited it from his mother. What did it represent?

A thick cloud rolled before the moon, covering it completely. Sesshoumaru blinked, turning towards her as if she could blow the obstructive cloud away. When she didn't he gave the skies a final look before abandoning the window to walk over to them.

"I just bought some good shampoo," mama remembered. "Hopefully, it will get rid of jii-chan's glue quickly and painlessly. I'll go get it."

"We'll be waiting in the bathroom."

Actually, the pups ended up waiting on Kagome as she nervously stood before them next to the bathtub. Stalling, she turned on the water, testing its temperature before filling it. That done, she turned to the pups…and turned away again, re-checking the water.

Yup, still warm.

Now, back to the task at hand…

Did they have soap? Oh wait, mama was bringing the shampoo.

Okay, enough stalling. It was time for step two.

Step two…undressing the two pups.

It would be relatively easy. Sesshoumaru was patiently standing there, eyeing the filling tub with interest. Inuyasha was less impressed but had found the rubber ducky that Souta had forgotten on the sink ledge. It was enough to distract him long enough for her to remove his fire-rat coat…if she dared.

"Okay, get a grip," she told herself aloud.

…Aaaaand, she couldn't.

Why?

While Inuyasha was happily chewing on the rubbery head of the duck all Kagome could see was his true self, fighting Naraku while cursing loudly and fighting Shippou for whatever snacks they could find. And though Sesshoumaru was kneeling besides the tub, using a small finger to make ripples in the water's surface, all she could see was a lethal taiyoukai with cold eyes and great powers, capable of transforming into a monstrous hell hound.

In other words, her (semi-)familiarity with the two's adult forms made this a very awkward situation for her. She had accidentally seen Inuyasha's developed body one too many times during their travel. Sesshoumaru's mature body was unknown to her…but she bet it was perfect.

Sesshoumaru looked up when she started slapping her forehead, trying to smack away the (semi-)unwanted images.

'Gah! Bad thoughts! Bad, bad thoughts!' she scolded herself.

A small PLOP came when a yellow projectile landed soundly in the water. Bobbing harmlessly where it had fallen, the yellow duck had little to rejoice in its freedom when a growling hanyou scampered across the bathroom and, without a moment's hesitation, plunged into the tub, soaking Sesshoumaru who leapt back a moment too late.

"Taaaa!" Inuyasha shouted triumphantly, holding up the toy, not seeming to notice that he was soaking wet. "Iki baaaaa!"

'Well, that's one way of getting him in.'

But there was no way she could clean them while they still wore their clothes. And the thought of them naked made her blush. So…

"I got it!" she snapped her fingers before searching through the cupboard. Finding what she had been looking for, she held it up. "Ta da!"

"Ta da!" Inuyasha cheered as well though he soon dropped his arms back into the water when he got a look at what she held. "Eh?"

"Bubble bath!" Kagome cheerfully announced.

Was she a genius or what? The foam made from the bubbles was so thick there was no way she'd see the pup's naked bodies **and** they will get a good cleaning. Honestly, what was she still doing in high school?

"Buba ba?" Inuyasha blinked. Sesshoumaru looked just as confused.

"Uh-huh."

Both puppies looked on as she poured out a large amount into the bath water. Rolling up her sleeve, she then proceeded to swirl her hand in the water, quickly churning the thick mass of bubbles which began to spread, inching its way towards Inuyasha who scooted backwards before reaching out to grab his brother's arm, large eyes widening as it neared.

"It's okay. See?" Kagome scooped up a handful of suds.

Inuyasha wasn't convinced but turned to his brother instead, most likely waiting on Sesshoumaru's verdict before trusting the white bubbles. The puppy ears tweaked when a clawed hand daringly prodded the foam before sinking till striped wrists.

Sesshoumaru withdrew his now coated hand, studying the effects before holding it out for Inuyasha to see. The hanyou pup attempted to sniff it but accidentally inhaled a generous amount. The sneezing fit that followed sent foam and bubbles across the room, and on Kagome.

"Hey!" she cried out, shielding herself with her arms. She was starting to regret her decision when she noticed something. Inuyasha's actions, along with the weight of water, had moderately loosened his fire-rat coat. Plus the soap had now spread evenly across the water's surface.

She only had one shot. Remembering Kaede's words about mini-Inuyasha's fondness of the red hakama, she inconspicuously leaned in and, with all the speed and nerve she could muster, yanked the clothing off the recovering hanyou.

'_Success!' _she grinned, holding up the shirt like a trophy. "Yes!"

"IE!"

Turning back to the bath, Kagome watched in growing horror as Inuyasha, intently focused on his stolen wardrobe in her hand, got to his feet in the bath, slipping a few times but finally standing up…in all his male glory!

Images of adult Inuyasha flashed before her like a twisted slide-show.

"Eeeek!" Kagome covered her eyes, blushing furiously. Only too late did she realize the mistake she was about to make. "Inuyasha, sit down!"

**WHAM/SPLASH **

"Inuyasha!"

Dropping to her knees, she shoved her hands beneath the thick layer of foam, searching for the pup which had disappeared beneath them, pulled down by the rosary beads. Feeling a lump, she grabbed it pulled, recovering the sputtering pup.

"Oh my gosh! Are you alright? Does it hurt? Can you breathe? Say something!"

Blinking through his bangs which were plastered on his face, Inuyasha shook his head to get the water out of his ears. Once that was done, he looked up with a trembling lower lip.

Kagome knew it was futile to stop what was coming up, but tried anyways.

"Please--"

"sniff…sniff…WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

Too late.

Sesshoumaru had watched the entire drama between her and Inuyasha without interfering but after seeing her helpless/clueless expression, he crawled over and took Inuyasha from her, brushing away the wet bangs before patting the puppy on his back. Inuyasha clung to his big brother, his cries slowly becoming hiccups before finally stopping altogether.

'Thank the gods!' Kagome almost cried herself, relieved.

"What is going on in here?" mama asked, tentatively opening the door to be greeted by a rather chaotic scene; a soaked, and naked, hanyou pup sitting in his equally wet, but clothed, brother's lap while her daughter, moderately dampened, sat before them, looking rather hazarded. And the three were sitting in a large puddle of water and soap suds which had been splattered onto the walls and pretty much everything else as well.

"Um…I gave Inuyasha a bath…" Kagome said weakly.

Seeing the girl's down expression, Mrs. Higurashi offered her a reassuring smile.

"It's never easy taking care of such young children," she said, putting the shampoo she had brought on the sink. "Don't feel bad; this is your first time and it came rather unexpectedly. Perk up! The best way to pull through is to stay positive."

"Yeah…" Kagome nodded before gaining more confidence. "Yeah! I can do this! I fought against giant monsters and travelled through rough terrain and passed my trigonometry test last month! I can do anything I put my mind to, right mama?"

"That's my girl."

"I am Kagome Higurashi," she continued, getting to her feet and holding out a fist. "I've dealt with Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru as adults; I can deal with them as puppies! I will look after them as if they were my own! I will dedicate myself to caring for them with all my love and maternal instincts! I will feed them, bathe them and play with them! I will not allow myself to give up so early!"

"Then I'll dry and dress Inuyasha," mama said, since the youngest of the two was already clean, though a bit disoriented for reason she could not fathom. "You will finish off bathing Sesshoumaru?"

Kagome was on a roll.

"Yes, I will! Nothing will stop me from giving these two the tender love and care they deserve! Mama raised me to help others and I will make mama proud!"

Wrapping Inuyasha in a towel and lifting him from his brother's lap, which took a while as Inuyasha refused at first before letting the other go, Mrs. Higurashi beamed at her own child's newly found determination.

"Then I leave this to you. March on soldier!" she saluted.

"Hai, mama! I will do my best!"

The door closed behind her mother and Kagome stood tall, feeling very important and pumped.

"Don't you worry, mama! I will do my absolute best while… bathing…Sesshou…maru…"

Confidence deflated even faster than it had grown and she warily turned to the remaining pup who had watched her entire tirade with the type of interest usually reserved for one observing an abstract theatre performance: fearful fascination.

"I'm not gonna think it."

A blur started to form in her mind.

"Don't start imagining how he looks!"

The picture began to sharpen.

"He's not an adult; it's not as bad as I'm making it."

…

This was going to be a LONG bathe.

Tbc…

* * *

Read & Review, please.


	7. Silence Is Golden

Title: Puppy 101

Authoress: Ladya C. Maxine

Rating: G

Summary: see chapter one

Warnings: see chapter one

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of its characters. Any and all unrecognizable characters belong solely to me and are not to be touched. I am not making any money off of this and I write with the sole intention to entertain.

* * *

"Well, someone looks nice and clean," mama commented as Kagome entered the room though was kind enough not to say anything about her face, which was beet red.

"Uh-huh," Kagome nodded, quickly walking over to her bed to plop the freshly bathed youkai next to Inuyasha, who was still wrapped in a towel though fiercely clutching his damp fire-rat coat as he watched as mama pulled out several pairs of Souta's old pyjamas from a suitcase.

"Who's a clean puppy? Who's a wittle spotless puppy-wuppy?" the older woman cooed, wriggling her finger in Sesshoumaru's face. In return she was gifted with a stare that clearly proved that the pup thought her to be losing a few screws. Considering that mama would have been reduced to a small heap of ash had she spoken the same way to his adult form, this was a rather peaceful reaction on the youkai's behalf.

"Eh…mama?"

"Oooooh, wook at his pretty hair. And his wittle tail. Aren't you a cutie?"

"Mama, are you alright?" Kagome asked, overcoming her embarrassment out of concern for her parent's strange behaviour.

Mama giggled, sitting back, much to the elder pup's relief.

"I'm sorry. The whole situation just made me a bit giddy. It seems like years since you and Souta were so small."

"Souta's just eight."

"I know, but it's fun all the same. Did you get all the glue out of his hair?"

"Hai."

"And did you remember to wash and rinse and dry behind his ears?"

"Yes, mama."

"And what about his…puphood?"

"Mama!"

"Well it is important. You don't want them to develop some rash or infection because of poor cleaning, do you?"

"No, but...But it's…them!"

"Oh Kagome, I thought you conquered your shyness."

"So did I," she muttered defeated, sinking down to sit next to mama on the rug next to her bed. Watching the older woman rummage for a few minutes, she then admitted, "It's just weird! I mean, I know them as adults! One moment they're both full grown, extremely strong and the next thing I know I have to be washing their winkies!"

"Winkies?" mama giggled.

"It's not funny!"

"I'm sorry, dear," she soothed, running an affectionate hand through the teen's dark hair. "If it makes things easier for you, I will volunteer to bathe them for you. How's that?"

"You won't mind?"

"Not at all. I bathed Souta when he was a baby and toddler. And don't worry, Kagome; you'll soon reach the age when you will come to appreciate a man's body. Who knows, maybe you and Inuyasha will--"

"Mama!"

"It could happen, dear. There's nothing to be ashamed of."

"I can't believe I'm having this conversation," Kagome mourned, burying her head in her hands.

"This should fit," mama estimated, holding up a one-piece yellow bunny pyjamas. "These should fit Inuyasha. Come here, sweetie."

"Aga fada keh!" the pup rebelled, scrunching up his nose at the clothing. "Ie!"

"You can't sleep in that one. It's all wet," mama reasoned, getting to her knees.

"Eh-ou, kika!" Inuyasha protested, hiding behind the bigger pup, who, by the way, was lost in thought once more.

'What's up with you, Sesshoumaru?' Kagome couldn't help wondering. Adult Sesshoumaru, while silent, was never this contemplative. At least, not when around them. Did this have something to do with the fact that he was pup? Or maybe the spell?

"Ow!"

Startled, she was shocked to see a small, thin but bleeding line on mama's arm, a warning to the older woman who had tried to pry the sodden coat from Inuyasha's tight grip.

"Mama! Inuyasha, sit!"

She really had to learn to control herself.

Her inner tirade only doubled when Inuyasha, who was still behind Sesshoumaru, was dragged down off the bed by the beads, pulling his brother down with him to land in a pile of yelps.

"Argh! Why do I keep doing that! Stupid, stupid, stupid!" Kagome shouted, beating her skull with her fists.

"Eh-ou?"

Surprised to not hear Inuyasha's cries, she realized the hanyou had been spared since he had landed on the youkai pup, cushioning his fall. Sesshoumaru, more shaken than hurt, was blinking as if trying to clear his sight.

"Oh no! He's blind! I blinded him!" Kagome panicked, grabbing the mini-lord to stare him in the eyes. "Sesshoumaru, can you see me? How many fingers? Do you see any colour? Do you remember who you are? Any internal bleeding? Talk to me!"

"Kagome, calm down!" mama ordered. "Calm down. Take deep breaths and count to ten."

"But—"

"Just do it."

Nodding, she deepened her ragged breathing.

"Now. What just happened?"

"The prayer beads." She pointed to the purple beads around the hanyou's neck. "There's a spell on them. Every time I say…s-i-t to Inuyasha, they pull him down to the ground."

"Can't you take them off?" mama asked, studying the cursed neck ornament.

"No."

"Then please be careful."

"Hai."

"Well, neither look too worse for the wear. As youkai and hanyou I do believe they can take a lot more than our bodies. Now, though, we have to find a way to cover theirs."

"Cover?" she blinked and looked at the pup in her arms. Her frantic actions had caused the towel to fall away, leaving a very naked Sesshoumaru, who had still to regain his bearings, on her lap.

"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehhh!"

Great, now the poor thing was blind **and** deaf.

She wasn't sure of the exact nature of this spell, but she certainly hoped that neither brother would remember anything once it's broken. Sesshoumaru would have a personal vendetta against her greater than his hatred for Naraku. That's just what she needed, a ticked off taiyoukai reducing her to a pile of acid-eaten flesh. Even Rin had acted more mature in dressing the pup!

Using that as her grounding force, she dared to pick up the white-haired pup and placed him back on the towel before (very securely) wrapping it around him.

One problem solved. Only like…a dozen to go. Starting with Inuyasha, who was hiding beneath her bed, as mama kneeling and looking under it was a pretty good clue. Yellow pyjama's in hand, Mrs. Higurashi was trying to coax the obstinate hanyou out.

Nibbling on her thumb nail, Kagome weighed the dilemma before coming up with a brilliant idea based on what she had witnessed up until now. Dragging the large suitcase over, she started searching before finding a two piece white set that were just a bit too big but comfortable enough.

'Come on, grow up,' she told herself. Putting on a brave face, she turned to Sesshoumaru who adopted a wary look. "It's okay. Look." She held up the pyjamas. "You can't go to sleep in that towel. Can you put these on yourself?"

Slowly nodding, he made the crucial decision that she was over her earlier panic attacks and so he inched over, still keeping the towel securely around him. Once reaching, he looked torn between dressing and exposing himself to the obviously volatile teenager.

Kagome took a deep breath, again, and smiled at him.

"I'm fine. Need any help?"

At his affirmative nod, she loosened the towel from around the small torso and steeled herself as it fell away. Shirt at hand, she held it out and he obediently pushed his arms through the sleeves though couldn't button it up. As she did it for him, Kagome noticed a couple of dark markings on his shoulder. Fearing that they were bruises, she touched them tentatively but the pup didn't flinch back in pain.

'More markings,' she identified. 'I wonder how many he has in total.'

According to Toutousai the marking's became darker as Sesshoumaru had grown. Speaking off the old geezer, what had he tried to warn her about just as she had left? Something about Sesshoumaru, but what…

Helping the young lord put on his pants was a bit more complicated than the shirt (understandably) but Kagome was feeling mighty proud of herself when she sat back on her heels to look at the now clothed youkai.

That was the first part, though, of the entire plan.

"Inuyasha!" she called out to the still concealed hanyou," Look. Sesshoumaru is wearing pyjamas. See?"

Sure enough, two big eyes peeked from under her bed. A minute passed before Inuyasha crawled out, making his way over to his brother and sniffing the material. Looking down dejectedly at the wet rat fur in his small hand, he quickly decided that the dry material was a lot more agreeable.

"Ne," he said, turning to mama and pointing at the one-piece in her hands. "Aki?"

"Yes, this is for you," she assured, holding it out for him to see.

His ears perked and he excitedly scrambled over.

"That was a good idea, Kagome," mama commented on as she helped the eager pup into the clothing piece. "It would seem that Inuyasha greatly admires his brother."

"If only they had grown up together," the girl sighed, running the possibilities through her head. "Then maybe they would have grown up closer, and then Sesshoumaru wouldn't be so hell bent on killing Inuyasha. Maybe he'd even be on our team and helping us destroy Naraku!"

Gods, that thought so appealing it almost hurt that it would never happen. Both brothers were incredible strong. As proven when they had battled and defeated Takenmaru and Sou'unga their combined powers would make them truly unstoppable.

"There, all set."

Pulling at his new garment, Inuyasha shot her a pleased look.

"Ata!"

"It looks great, Inuyasha," she complimented but a soft tap on her arm drew her attention down to find Sesshoumaru looking a bit uncomfortable, shifting on the spot. "What's wrong?"

The pup turned. Beneath the cloth she saw a quivering movement along the back of his left thigh. She slapped her forehead.

Duh. His tail!

How to solve this one?

The answer struck her quick and she got to her feet and walked over to her desk. Finding what she was looking for, she walked back, kneeling before the squirming youkai, scissors in hand.

"Hold still," she advised him. Once again schooling her emotions (and thoughts), she felt her way down the pup's spine until she found the base of his tail beneath the cloth. Careful not to nick the soft skin, she cut a small hole and, unable to not blush, reached into the pants to push the fluffy tail through. The appendage seemed grateful, wagging softly, free from its confines.

"Well mama," she said, turning to the older woman who was running a comb through Inuyasha's hair, "It wasn't easy, but I think I made it through their first bath rather well, didn't I?"

"You most certainly did. And now it's time to put them to bed. And by the looks of it it's not going to be so hard."

Indeed. Inuyasha, tired from the hectic and long first day, was practically asleep, lulled off by the comforting feel of mama's grooming. However, just before falling asleep, he tiredly climbed out of Mrs. Higurashi's lap and onto Kagome's, snuggling down against her chest, facing his brother. Kagome's eyes soften and she pulled the exhausted hanyou closer, resting a cheek on his head.

"I leave them to you," mama said, getting to her feet. Placing a good-night kiss on her first-born's head, she smiled fondly. "I'm very proud of you."

The door closed, leaving her with her two young charges.

Rocking Inuyasha for a short while, she looked down at the sleeping hanyou. He looked so different, but not in a physical sense. Of course, the rounder cheeks and attitude-free expression were a major difference, but it was the first time she had ever seen Inuyasha so at peace and care free.

'You weren't born to distrust others. You were made that way because others shunned and hated you,' she thought sadly. Hanyou or not, she could not understand how anyone could possibly find it in their hearts to treat such an innocent child so harshly. He had lost his father the night he was born. Izayoi passed away a few years later. He was left with no one.

'Well, there was still one…'

She had hated Sesshoumaru for a long time. She hated how he had used Inuyasha's love for his mother against him in a cruel plan. She hated how he could be so cold and merciless towards his own brother just because Inuyasha was a hanyou. And, of course, she was not overly fond of the heartless taiyoukai who had almost killed her upon their first meeting and then proceeded to terrorize their group for some time afterwards.

The strange thing was, though, that while her opinion on Sesshoumaru had changed, the youkai himself had not.

Yes, he hadn't shown emotions until taking on Rin as a sort of adoptive daughter and only stopped chasing after Tesseiga after he got that other sword of his. But, as far as Inuyasha went, Sesshoumaru seemed to treat him the same way. The only exception was that they had come to ever so slightly know the demon lord. Somehow, the more they learned about him, the more they understood who he was and what he stood for.

'His father did raise him to hate humans. And Inutaisho is the only person Sesshoumaru has ever shown any respect for. Losing his father, the only parent he had left, must have hurt him deeply. The fact that Inutaisho died protected Izayoi and Inuyasha must be the source of his hatred to his brother.'

The hanyou shifted in her hold, turning in his sleep. Affectionately running a hand over his soft hair, she rested her cheek on his head. She hoped the others would find that poltergeist soon. As adorable as Inuyasha was as a child, she was starting to miss the teenaged hanyou. Heck, she even missed his cursing and bad attitude. As well as being able to sit the pigheaded male without having to feel bad.

"Time to put you to bed, mister," she whispered softly, getting to her feet as she cradled the pup closer. "It's going to be a long but fun day tomorrow."

Pulling back her sheets and quilt, she laid the sleeping youngster down. He curled into a ball, suckling on a small thumb as he nuzzled into the soft pillow. Tucking him in, she felt a surge of maternal pride. Looking after the pups had it's hard times, but scenes like this made up for that.

Pups…Oops! Sesshoumaru.

'He's so quiet. I almost forgot about him.'

"Ready for…bed…?" she asked, turning to find an empty spot where he had last been. Turning in circles until she became dizzy, she could not find him. He must have wandered off during her inner musings.

"Sesshoumaru?" she whispered loudly, not wanting to disturb Inuyasha. Tiptoeing to the partially open door, she slipped into the hall but that was empty too. She closed the door behind her quietly and quickly searched the rooms on the second floor but coming up empty handed. Pushing down the fluttering feeling of panic, she went downstairs.

Souta was watching television, sitting on a unburned part of the rug, Buyo fast asleep on his lap.

"Souta, have you seen Sesshoumaru?" Kagome asked, peeking behind the curtains.

"No, why?" he asked, hugging Buyo to him. "You lost him! You have to find him before he tries to eat Buyo again!"

"Never mind," she said, confirming that he wasn't there.

Where else? The kitchen!

But her hopes were dashed when she only found mama and grandpa. Both looked up as she entered.

"I can't find Sesshoumaru!"

"I thought he was with you in your room," mama said, drying off her hands on her apron as she had been busy washing up.

"Yeah, me too. I put Inuyasha to bed but when I turned around Sesshoumaru was gone. Where could he have gone off to?" She gasped, covering her mouth. "What if he went outside? What if he left the shrine? He's not familiar with this time! He could be in serious danger!"

"Aha! He must be out hunting his prey! It's a good thing I kept some of my holy o-fuda just in case!"

Grandpa was not going to give up.

"Not now, papa," Mrs. Higurashi shot down. "He's a puppy, not a werewolf."

Kagome, searching through the cabinets on her knees, almost knocked her head as she sat up. Werewolf? The moon!

"That's it!"

"What's it?" mama and grandpa asked as she ran out. Sharing a confused look, they could only shrug before going back to their activities.

Throwing open the front door with a bang, Kagome ran to the middle of the yard before turning back to the house to look up at the roof. Nothing. He wasn't on the roof of the well house either.

Her miko-senses suddenly kicked in as she felt a faint but distinctive youki behind her. Turning, she was relieved to find the small, outlined figure of the missing pup seated on the high arch at the top of the stone steps that led up to the shrine. Sure enough, Sesshoumaru was staring transfixed up at the full moon above them.

"Sesshoumaru!" she called up.

The white tail twitched from where it had been hanging over the edge and he looked down.

"Come down! It's time for bed!"

He blinked, eyes glowing gold against the black skies. Instead of obeying, though, he merely returned to his gazing.

"You have to sleep!" she tried to reason with him though her own words struck her.

_"…Lord_ _Sesshoumaru doesn't sleep a lot…" _Rin's small voice reminded her.

Okay, so that option was out the window.

With no other choice, she took a seat on the stone steps beneath him. As much as she wasn't looking forward to spending the night anywhere but her nice warm bed, she definitely wasn't going to leave him out here alone. Still, it was pretty cold…

Wrapping her arms around her knees to pull them to her chest, she rested her head down on them, feeling the day's events catching up with her. Stifling a yawn, she was beginning to nod off when something soft brushed her side. Golden eyes looked up at her surprised expression. Her surprised stemmed from, not the fact that he had come down, but that she saw that he was trembling from the cold air. While she still wore her travel clothes and jacket, the pyjama he had on were not enough. But how could he feel cold? Most youkai's, especially of Sesshoumaru's pure-bred lineage, weren't affected by even the most extreme weather. Unless it was an immunity they developed as they grew.

Shrugging off her jacket, she wrapped it around the puppy before getting to her feet.

"We can look at the moon from my room, if you want," she offered. "It's a lot warmer there."

Sesshoumaru gave no resistance as she led him back inside. Bidding everyone good night, she climbed the stairs, holding his hand as she entered her bedroom. Inuyasha was fast asleep, snoring softly from his curled position. Placing Sesshoumaru on the edge of the bed, where he returned to moon gazing, she quickly gathered her things and made her way to the bathroom. Bathing and brushing her teeth, she changed into her own nightwear before returning to find an unexpected sight.

Inuyasha, having either woken up or felt the other pup in his sleep, was now sleeping securely against Sesshoumaru who was lying down, arms wrapped around his younger brother and eyes closed. He wasn't sleeping since a hand was lazily running itself through the hanyou's hair, but the fact that he had abandoned his previous fascination to be with Inuyasha was a surprise on its own. He did notice her, probably smelled her, as the eyes opened soon after her entry to look up at her. As if this discovery hadn't been surprising enough, he scooted back a bit, still holding the pup, offering her more space the lay.

"Thank you," Kagome smiled though first pulled the sheets over him (as he had been lying on top of them) before getting in as well.

Inuyasha turned in his brother's arms, opening sleepy eyes and yawning.

"Ight," he said softly, eyes drifting back shut.

"Good night, Inuyasha," she whispered, adjusting the blanket around the two. Resting her head on the second pillow, she looked past the snowy ears to find golden eyes watching her. "Good night, Sesshoumaru."

She wasn't sure if it was the shadows playing tricks on her eyes, but the pup's mouth opened as if to say something, but it then shut along with the shining orbs. Sesshoumaru nestled himself down, his cheek brushing ever so slightly with one of the small ears of his brother. His breathing soon evened out into what was undoubtedly sleep, leaving their temporary guardian to wonder if she had been dreaming or not.

Tbc…

* * *

A/N: I've noticed that I've kinda been neglecting Inuyasha and Kagome moments in this fic. I'll make sure to avoid doing that in future chapters.

Read & Review, please.


	8. Of Supermarkets and Pageants

Title: Puppy 101

Authoress: Ladya C. Maxine

Rating: G

Summary: see chapter one

Warnings: see chapter one

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of its characters. Any and all unrecognizable characters belong solely to me and are not to be touched. I am not making any money off of this and I write with the sole intention to entertain.

* * *

**_Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii_**_--_

"Ikiiibaaaa!"

**_CRUNCH!_**

Kagome shot up from where she had buried her face in her pillow in hopes of blocking out the alarm clock. As much as she hated the infernal racket it made, the metallic crunch that had followed the battle cry was even less welcoming.

"Upi."

Blinking blearily from beneath ruffled bangs, Kagome looked down to find her alarm clock being offered to her. Or at least, she recognized the dented face, one hand ticking crookedly while a chime hanged hazardously over the little cupped hands.

"Ta," Inuyasha said proudly, dumping the busted timepiece onto her lap.

"Uh…thanks. I never liked it anyways."

"Yippie ya godi."

"Good morning to you too," Kagome managed to smile at the chirpy pup. "Slept well?"

"Oki yadda."

"Don't like alarm clocks either, huh?"

"Ne ne ne ne ne."

Stretching her spine, Kagome brushed her hair back.

Bright morning sun was streaming through her window as she had left the curtains open last night. Despite the pleasant sun and bright skies it was no doubt cold outside. Inuyasha would easily fit into that adorable jacket mama had bought for Souta. As for his ears…

Something close to twisted giddiness made its presence in her smile. Adult Inuyasha usually wore a simple baseball cap while in her time, but his toddler form needed something…cuter.

Throwing off the sheets, she hurried over to the suitcase but opened its partner beside it which had been left untouched last night. Shirts and pants were tossed carelessly behind her until she found her intended item in a plastic bag with other head accessories.

"This should do nicely!" she proclaimed, holding it up.

It was hand-knitted bonnet, a gift for Souta from some distant relative who had long since not contacted them. Light blue with little yellow puppies around the rim, the real reason behind her choice were the two floppy ears on top. They had once been stuffed with cotton but now, years later, most of the cotton had either gone flat or been pulled out by the then spiteful Souta, who had always hated it.

Tugging out the remaining cotton and snipping through a few strings with the scissors she had left on the first suitcase, Kagome pushed her finger into the now empty ear flaps and was satisfied with the space. This would not only camouflage Inuyasha's real ears but it would also keep them warm without being uncomfortable.

"Do you like it?" she asked the pup, who had crawled over in curiosity.

The small nose scrunched slightly as he eyed the head gear.

"Try it on," she insisted anyways, pulling him onto her lap and carefully fitted it on, tucking his soft ears into their respective space before tying the string beneath his chin. She turned him around for the full effect and couldn't help going starry-eyed.

"Cute!"

Inuyasha was less enthusiastic about it, tentatively touching the thick material before feeling the now pointed ear pieces. It took the pup about ten seconds to decide that he did not like it.

"Bleh!" he stuck out his tongue and tried to pry it off.

"You'll get used to it."

"Ne!"

Seeing as he could not get a good enough grip on the bonnet with his little fingers and did not know that the secret way out was undoing the string beneath his chin, Kagome wasn't all to concerned with him hurting himself in his attempt.

"And the good news is that it has a matching jacket and there are a pair of pants in here that will look so perfect."

None of this told the hanyou anything, even if he had been listening. He discovered soon enough that he was not going to get the thing off his head on his own and so did the first thing that came to mind.

"Eh-ou!"

Kagome looked up from where she had been sorting through the suitcase with wide eyes.

Sesshoumaru! She had clean forgotten him! _Again!_

'Idiot! How can you keep forgetting him when you're the one who brought him here in the first place?'

Though it was futile since she would have noticed him earlier, she looked around her room for the second visitor from the past. Laying flat on her stomach, she even peered under the bed but found only dust bunnies. Her thoughts went back to last night so getting to her feet (knocking her toe in the process), she limped over to the window and threw it open before leaning outside as much as possible, ignoring the chilly weather, to crane her neck to the front of their house. The shrine's arch at the top of the endless stairs was in plain view but she didn't see the small figure that had perched itself on top of it last night.

"Wooo!"

A woolly ear brushed her arm as Inuyasha leaned out too, mimicking her though with no idea as to what she was really looking for. Instead he took in the new day outside with eager eyes, looking at anything from the trees to the birds to the city of Tokyo below. The golden eyes were positively shining with delight, temporarily forgetting the bonnet that still sat atop his head triumphantly.

"Ta?" he asked, pointing a little finger to the buildings beyond the shrine's walls.

"That's where we're going today," she promised, smiling slightly though her mind was still on the missing pup. "After breakfast."

Leaning over a bit more, the pup almost tumbled out but she grabbed him by the waist in time, pulling him back in and locking the window firmly.

"Where's Sesshoumaru?" she asked, looking at him though not actually asking him the question.

Inuyasha looked around and pouted, lower lip curling as he held up his hands in an 'I-don't-know' gesture. The blue ears twitched despite the thick material.

"Well then, let's go find him."

Shifting the hanyou onto her hip, she stepped over the strewn clothing articles and through her door, which was open, meaning that Sesshoumaru must have opened it and left. But where would the reclusive youkai have possibly gone to? It wasn't like he was all that comfortable or familiar with the place.

Loud sniffing in her ear had Inuyasha with his nose turned upwards, inhaling deeply.

"Mmmm," he concluded, licking his lips.

Perplexed, she took a whiff too. Though Inuyasha most likely had a much better sense of smell she noticed the tell-tale scents of breakfast being prepared. Omelette and ham if she was right. From the lack of chaos coming from downstairs it was safe to assume that grandpa and Souta were still sleeping.

Inuyasha sniffed again, this time catching another scent and a big smile spread across his round face.

"Eh-ou!"

In the kitchen?

Hopeful, Kagome began to make her way down the stairs, mindful not to her lose her balance since Inuyasha was happily bouncing in her hold, needlessly pointing her in the right direction.

Why the youkai pup would be in the kitchen she could not begin to guess but she did hope that he had finally regained his appetite and was maybe eating. Still, it was strange that he had dared to venture out of the sanctuary of her room.

'Sanctuary? I probably scared him away with my behaviour.'

Speaking of the previous night, she frowned at the memory of what had occurred when she had gone to bed. Sesshoumaru had almost spoken. At the time she had thought that it was but a dream or hallucination but the more she thought of the it the more she was convinced that the pup had attempted to say something to her. Why was he so hesitant to speak?

And why did Toutousai's unheard warning keep nagging her?

'Maybe he had tried to warn me about Sesshoumaru's poison.'

Much good that had done. She didn't even look into the living room as they passed it.

Pushing away the old crooner's unfinished words, she continued walking, Inuyasha getting more and more enthusiastic by the second. By now the meal's scent had gotten stronger and she could see mama's back through the archway as she approached. Crossing her fingers, she stepped into the room and her worries were lifted when Inuyasha squealed.

"Eh-ou!"

Sitting peacefully on the kitchen counter a few feet away from where mama was busy attending the food on the stove, the youkai pup looked up at the shout with his usual calm face though mama jumped slightly at the sudden outburst of glee. Her smile returned, however, when she caught sight of the newcomers.

"Good morning, dear," she greeted them both as they, or rather, Kagome walked over. "Slept well? Oh! That bonnet looks absolutely adorable on Inuyasha! A great choice, Kagome."

"Good morning, mama," she answered with a smile of her own though she kept looking at Sesshoumaru who was staring at Inuyasha (and his bonnet) as if the hanyou had fallen out of the sky while shrieking like a banshee. "How did Sesshoumaru…?"

"I found him sitting before the front door this morning. He didn't necessarily want to go outside. I tried asking him what he wanted but he didn't say anything and wouldn't move so I decided to leave him and start breakfast. I had just beaten the eggs and turned when I found him standing there. He's been with me since."

"Okay…weird," Kagome mused.

"I was hoping that you could tell me what he wants, but by the look on your face I guess not," mama giggled. "Such a mysterious one, he is. But a wonderful little helper."

"Really?"

"I was having some trouble getting to the garlic." She pointed to the top of the cupboard that was just out of reach. "I was about to go for the stool when he just jumped up onto the counter and took it for me. He also handed me the pepper and salt from the rack there without me having to ask."

Inuyasha, tired of being held, squirmed in her arms so she deposited him beside his brother. Tiny feet swinging happily over the counter top, the hanyou nuzzled the bigger pup's arm in greeting. Sesshoumaru responded by inclining his head a bit, allowing him to nudge the wool-covered head that didn't even reach his chin. After the cuddle, both pups turned to the women as if waiting for them to make the next move. Mama did so.

"Oh dear," she sighed, searching to a cabinet to no avail. "We're out of thyme. Jii-chan doesn't eat his eggs without thyme…"

"We can go for it," Kagome volunteered without thinking.

"With Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru?" mama doubted. "If you want you can leave them here with me. It'll make your trip a lot faster."

"I'll only be going to the supermarket close by. I can handle them and a few groceries."

"If you are certain…" mama relented though gave her a knowing stare. "Children tend to react differently once out of the house. Plus these two aren't used to these modern times. You're going to have to keep a _very_ close eye on them."

"I was going to take them to the park later on anyways; this way they'll have a taste of the city."

Mama gave in, though not without adding on another fifteen minute lecture about reading a child's body language and not allowing strangers to talk to either pups. Despite her own assurances, Kagome was starting to feel a bit nervous about taking the two with her, but she didn't want to give up so soon. She'd prove to mama that she was responsible enough.

How hard could it possibly be?

* * *

In any case, a lot harder than she had dared to think.

Grateful to see the poster-covered windows of the supermarket at the end of the block, she adjusted her hold on Inuyasha, who was on her hip, and if she was to tightened her grip on Sesshoumaru's hand she either crush his bones or tear her skin on his claws.

'Almost there…' she told herself.

It wasn't so much that the pups were being a handful (in a none-literate sense). Neither were trying to get away from her or throwing tantrums in the middle of the street, but of course they were feeling a bit overwhelmed by the busy traffic and sidewalks as the last bit of the morning rush hour bustled around them.

Inuyasha, though intimidated, wouldn't stop swivelling about, trying to see everything at once. This had led to many near falls as Kagome had to keep adjusting her balance, plus Inuyasha seemed to be getting heavier and heavier with each step. Sesshoumaru was (thankfully) walking beside her, but he was keeping very close, basically glued to her left leg.

It had taken her an hour to get both pups dressed and suitable for outdoors. Inuyasha, still with his bonnet (which he seemed to have taken a new liking to) was bundled up in the jacket she had picked out earlier though it had been a bit bigger and bulkier than she had thought and the hanyou now greatly resembled a stuffed snowman, his little arms almost sticking out at the sides. He wore soft, dark pants and a scarf had been wrapped securely around his neck (A bit too securely since mama had to loosen it before they left because the hanyou had started to turn a bit blue in the face). And then came the shoes…

She had actually seen that one coming. Adult Inuyasha didn't wear shoes, his toenails, eh, claws would have no doubt grieved him if he did. But that was the old Inuyasha whose foot soles were most likely as thick as his skull. The hanyou pup's feet where now small and soft and the cold, not to mention potential debris on the ground, would have had the puppy hopping about in pain. It had taken both mama and her to hold the pup down long enough to put on a pair of Souta's old shoes. They specifically chose one size bigger to not discomfort the puppy's foot. Like his bonnet, Inuyasha had rigidly accepted them though not without walking around the place for many minutes, trying to shake off the offending footwear with every step.

Sesshoumaru, though more…lenient, hadn't been all that easier. Luckily, his grown-up form did wear boots. Kagome couldn't help wondering how that was possible since both brothers (being of inu-youkai heritage) had clawed feet but most likely it was due to Sesshoumaru's rank and title as Lord of the Western lands. Bare feet were probably considered uncouth amongst royals. Yet another reason why the full youkai despised his half-brother so.

But that was in the past (for now).

So while the pup had allowed her to slip his feet into high lace-up boots, it had been his tail that had been the most challenging. It couldn't be left confined in the pants without the pup wriggling about so again she had to cut a small hole out for it. Because of this she had had no choice but to find a long coat that would cover the tail without confining it too much. Sadly, Souta had never owned such a coat at the appropriate age/size so she had been forced to use one of her own…which was bright yellow with flowers, bunny-rabbits and butterflies designs splattered all over it.

'I really hope you don't remember _any_ of this when the spell is lifted,' Kagome prayed, looking down at the mini-youkai.

She hated to admit it, for it was a blow to the youkai's male-pride, but in her coat, simple jeans (which had made the cutting out of the hole extremely difficult), white sweater and light blue beanie cap to cover his pointed ears, Sesshoumaru could easily pass as a very pretty little girl.

By the time both the pups (and herself) were done dressing grandpa had actually eaten his breakfast. Since the main purpose of the outing was gone mama had asked her to pick up a few extra items, though not too much as Kagome would not have been able to carry both the groceries and the pups.

Bidding her family goodbye, while they bid her good luck, she had ventured out with her two charges. The sky rivalled that of summer, but the chill had thickened and it wasn't too long before their breaths began to fog slightly. Inuyasha had made a game out of swatting at the foggy air that blew before him every time he'd breathe out. Kagome had decided from beforehand to carry the youngest since when held he was always quieter and she trusted Sesshoumaru to stay close to her even if she'd have to let go of his gloved hand for something.

And thus the adventure had begun.

The first challenge had been the shrine steps.

As she had started to descend Inuyasha, for some reason, had found it great fun and had thrown his hands up in the air, almost toppling her off balance, and had proceeded to shout "Wheeeee!" all the way down even though it had been a very slow descend. Too slow perhaps, because Sesshoumaru, after the first two dozen steps, had grown either bored or frustrated and had decided to take the faster way down.

Kagome had watched in bewilderment, then horror, when the pup had crouched on the step before taking a massively high leap, soaring down the remaining stairway. Inuyasha's delighted giggles had made up for her stunned silence. Gathering herself, she had stumbled her way down, moving as quickly as possible, Inuyasha bouncing and jiggling on her hip. Fearing to find Sesshoumaru splattered on the pavement at the foot of the steps (or at least with several broken bones) she had released a great sigh of relief to find him patiently waiting for her, perfectly in one piece without a scratch. And this could have just been her imagination playing up again, but she thought she had seen a glitter of amusement in his eyes as she had rushed over, chanting "Oh my god! Oh my god!" over and over.

Some scolding later, they had continued on their way and this time she was not going to let go of the flighty pup until they were back home. At least no one had seen that little stunt.

However, what everyone did see was a normal looking teenager walking down the street with two rather exotic looking children. The caps and gloves hid their ears and claws (and Sesshoumaru's coat hid his tail), but their unusual long, silvery manes and golden eyes drew many mesmerized stares. She had been stopped a few of times by women who couldn't help themselves, gushing over the brothers' appearances.

Or rather, the brother and 'sister's' appearances. Yes, so far everyone had mistaken Sesshoumaru for a girl.

"They are so unique," an elderly lady had said, squinting through thick glasses at the pair. "So foreign…Are they from abroad?"

"Eh…well…They're only staying here temporarily," Kagome had answered vaguely.

"Such darlings really. They are so unique. Are they from abroad?"

It hadn't been until the little old woman had asked the same question a fourth time that Kagome realized that she may have been suffering from some memory loss. That had cost them ten minutes to finally send her on her way, no doubt forgetting to have ever seen the two by the time she turned the corner.

That had been just one such incidents. Many other women, mostly mothers with their own children, commented on how proud she must be to have such beautiful children. After a while she had stopped explaining, merely thanking them and continuing on her way. Just as many male pedestrians stared at the duo but didn't stop to ask anything though Kagome had not liked certain individuals stares and so had picked up the pace.

And now, finally, they were standing before the grocery store.

'And we still have to walk back home,' she groaned inwardly, ushering Sesshoumaru before her through the automatic doors when their sudden movement startled the pup.

"It's okay. See? They're just opening for you."

The people waiting at the cashier, and the cashier operators as well, began to softly talk amongst themselves as she walked over to pick up a basket in which to put the items. Inuyasha, however, having spied the trolleys parked nearby, pointed with a pleading expression.

"Ta?"

"You want that one?" Kagome asked, thinking to herself that perhaps it was a better idea since she wouldn't have to carry him around the entire time.

The small head nodded vigorously, eyes shining as she tugged one free. He positively crowed with delight when she unfolded the children's seat and settle him in, glad to get the weight off her hip. His jacket puffed out under the sudden confinement, almost immobilizing him but she quickly flattened out the air, leaving the pup with more range of movement though he still couldn't reach all that far.

"Do you want to sit too?" she asked Sesshoumaru but he shook his head, eyeing the iron contraption doubtfully. "Stay close then."

She merely smiled politely at their unwanted spectators but walked on before anyone could inquire though she felt the eyes on the back of her head. It was beginning to feel a bit claustrophobic.

"Alright then, let's see," she said once they were in the privacy of an empty aisle. Pulling the small slip of paper out of her jeans pocket, she quickly went over the list.

"Thyme, milk, sugar, dough, cat food, carrots and celery. Well, the sugar should be around here…"

Slowly walking down the aisle, she spotted the pack soon enough and picking up two for good measures she placed them in the cart. The puppies watched on in fascination as she also took a bag of dough. Inuyasha was the first to catch on, though his conclusion had some flaws.

"Iga," he said proudly, reaching to one side to pluck a small packet of seasoning and tossed it behind him into the trolley. Elated at his accomplishment, he gurgled and went for something else.

"No, Inuyasha," she shook her head with a smile, picking up the spice. "You should only pick what you need. This is not on the list." She held it up for him to see. "Look. No spice…Well, you can't read…but we don't need it." She put the packet back on the shelf.

Inuyasha looked a bit put down, staring longingly at the returned spice. Thinking quickly, Kagome grabbed one of the bags of sugar from out of the trolley and placed it on a shelf out of the hanyou's line of sight before pointing to it enthusiastically.

"That one!" she pointed. "We need that."

Following her finger, he beamed and picked up the item, depositing it back in the trolley, believing that he had contributed to the shopping.

"Thank you," she commended before going back to the list. Now they needed…

"Thyme." Since they were still in the spice and seasoning aisle she looked around. "Thyme…thyme…thyme…"

Repeating the word, she slowly walked down the aisle, looking left and right for the elusively small bottle.

"Yme, yme, yme!" Inuyasha helped her, repeating his own version of the spice as he too looked around though was more occupied with trying to grab whatever came into reach to add to the cart. "Di!"

"No, no. Where's the thyme? Maybe this is the wrong aisle." She looked behind her, trying to find those handy signs that displayed what was to be found in the respective aisles. "Thyme is a spice…right?"

Her monologue was cut short by something tapping on her leg. Looking down she found a small bottle being offered up at her.

"Ah, there it is…Wait a minute."

Her jaw fell, looking past the offered item to Sesshoumaru who hesitated at her response and started to withdraw his hand. Quickly reaching out, she plastered a smile over her surprise and gently caught it.

"Perfect! Thank you very much, Sesshoumaru."

How on earth had he found it? No, wrong question. How on earth did he know what it was she had been looking for? The bottle was plain with no drawings and its content was practically powder. All that gave it away as thyme was the word on the label. Could it be that…Sesshoumaru had read it? Was it possible for him, at the human equivalent of 6, to be able to identify the word on a label between many? It wasn't like it was an all too simple word either, like apple or cat.

Appeased that he had done nothing wrong, Sesshoumaru stood on his toes to reach over the cart and carefully dropped the plastic bottle in, aiming for the pack of sugar to break its fall. Inuyasha giggled and managed to grab some curie off the shelf and tossed it in too.

"Fine, you can keep that one," Kagome shook her head. "Sesshoumaru?"

He looked up, rubbing a covered ear with his gloved hands. All those clothes were probably getting a bit too warm for the moderate temperature of the store but they couldn't afford to remove anything lest they wanted to give away their true identities.

"Can you find me this one?"

Holding out the list, she pointed to the word 'carrots', needing to see for herself it the pup was indeed capable of reading. The golden eyes trailed over the word a few times before he looked around, keen youkai eyes noting that there wasn't any of it in this aisle. Tugging on her jeans as he was still too wary to go off on his own, he led her to the end of the aisle.

'Is he just going to look around until he finds it?'

The answer turned out to be 'no'. Rather than relying only on sight, Sesshoumaru sniffed the air delicately before indicating that they should go left; the produce section. Either Toutousai had underestimated Sesshoumaru's age, or the pup was showing an incredible knowledge at a very young age.

Walking past the lettuce and cucumbers (of which Inuyasha managed to snatch a couple; Kagome indulged him since he was so keen to help fill the cart), the pup came to a stop right before the piled display of orange and green and looked up at her as if awaiting her judgement.

"So you can read," she concluded dumbly, picking up a bunch and handing it to Inuyasha to drop onto the small pile behind him. "What else can you do?"

Of course, the youkai didn't answer.

Since the milk section was close they soon found themselves heading for the front of the store, needing only the cat food which was to be found off to the side of the cashiers. Along the way Inuyasha had added yet a few more items to the cart, chattering happily as he looked around, short legs kicking excitedly though he had curbed it a bit when he had accidentally kicked Kagome's thigh.

"It's okay. It didn't hurt," she assured the pup who was looking shamed. Kissing the top of his head, she was surprised at how motherly she felt.

Feeling better, Inuyasha looked down the line they were standing in when he heard the many bells of the cash registers ringing up the bills. He was quick to notice that everyone waiting in line was studying him and Sesshoumaru with interest. Smiling a toothy grin, he held up his hands.

"Tada!"

Many laughed at his antics and Kagome couldn't help blushing slightly.

"Such a darling," the woman before her commented. "Are they yours?"

"Uh…"

Better not lie this time.

"No. I'm just babysitting. They're my…mother's uncle's grandfather's cousin's niece's kids."

Well, at least she hadn't said that they were hers.

"Oh," the woman tried to work out if that was all actually possible but soon gave up. "So will…she be entering them into the pageant?"

"Pageant?" Kagome blinked.

"You haven't heard?" the stranger asked, aghast.

"I…um…I've just come back from travelling. I've been gone for some time."

"There's going to be a national child beauty pageant, starting on Monday!" the woman said excitedly. "Everyone is entering their children. Tell you uncle's sister's…tell their mother that she should enter them, especially her." She pointed to Sesshoumaru who hid behind Kagome at the accusing gesture. "But you can also enter boys."

"That's good," Kagome said with a small smile, "because they are both boys."

A collected gasp echoed through the front of the store since everyone had been listening in on the conversation. Even the cash registers stopped ringing.

The woman's hand had lifted to her chest as if to steady her heart and she blinked many times.

"A-a boy? Oh my!" She knelt down slightly, studying Sesshoumaru as best she could without invading his or Kagome's personal space. "Dear, he just _has_ to participate! This child is definite winner!"

A collected murmur of agreement backed her up as the rest nodded.

"I don't think that that's a good idea…" Kagome shifted. "He's very shy and doesn't like being the centre of attention."

"Your family should consider it first, honey," the woman insisted anyways, getting to her feet as she was next at the cashier, putting her things onto the conveyer belt. "Such natural beauty and delicate features, on a boy no less! And the younger one is just too adorable to keep from the public eye. Why, these two could bring in two major prizes, plus double the prize money!"

"I still don't…prize money?"

"First prizes winner also get 250.000 yen prize money," the cashier decided to enter herself into the conversation as she rang up the woman's groceries. "There are going to be different categories, depending on age. If their mother enters both then there's a big chance that they'll both win that prize money."

"Oh, and they do make such splendid pair! And they'd have to be dressed up for various pageant categories! Can you just imagine it! It would be so exciting!"

With the way this woman was getting so excited about the idea one would think that the pups were her own children but Kagome wasn't listening anymore, her mind spinning.

250.000 yen! Her family was in a bit of a financial depression right now…That money would be the answer to all their worries….And if Inuyasha could bring in another 250.000…

Mama wouldn't have to work double shifts and grandpa could stay home instead of going into town to try and sell things to bring in some money. Before he had gone out to play with his friends Souta had said that he was going to get a job as a paperboy in order to help out. Her poor brother already had a hectic schedule without extra work…

250.000 (or 500.000?) yen…So much money could help pay off all their debts and…

Kagome shook her head almost viciously.

What was she thinking! She couldn't enter Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru into a pageant! First of all, they weren't hers. Second, they were adults (and far older than her) by nature and not some dolls to pretty up and parade before some crowd!

Inuyasha was too young now to really understand what would be happening, but he was her friend (and nothing more, thank you very much!) and he trusted her; to betray his trust like that just for money was a horrible thought. She'd never be able to face him when he returned to his adult form.

And while she never faced Sesshoumaru in his adult form, she'd still feel bad about it. Partially because she'd be exploiting him despite knowing how strong his pride was, partially because puppy Sesshoumaru would no doubt be terrified of all the lights and people and attention and would be most unhappy if she entered him.

Still…so much money…

By now the woman had gathered up her groceries and Kagome had been emptying her cart unconsciously, still deep in thoughts though the woman's voice cut through to her.

"I'd do it if I were your…relative," she said. "I've entered my own children. I had hoped to win first prize, but second best is good enough for me. Today's the last day to enter them. In any case I do hope to see them at the pageant. Ta, darling."

"Ta!" Inuyasha waved back though Kagome was silently searching for her wallet, still running the facts through her head.

It wasn't like she would be exploiting them…was it? It wasn't like they'd get hurt or suffer from the pageants. Pageants are held almost every day all over the world and she had never heard of a child getting traumatized or injured during one.

And it wasn't like either brothers would be interested in the money; Inuyasha was used to providing for himself and never carried any money with him on their travels. Sesshoumaru, as heir to his father's lands, had inherited everything, including all of the former lord's treasures. As to where Sesshoumaru kept all that loot was a mystery since he never seemed to have a fixed fortress though Myoga assumed that it was still in the lord's old palace. Still, he didn't come across as the type who cared much for wealth (All he ever craves is power, righ?). Hell, his usual royal attire aside, he was pretty much a vagabond, like Inuyasha, living off what he captures and going without luxury with ease.

In any case, she wouldn't be stealing anything by keeping the money for herself…

'NO! NO! NO! I can't do it!'

Sudden giggles behind her made her freeze, afraid that she had spoken the words out loud. To her relief she saw that everyone was focused on Inuyasha's actions. Breathing out, she was about to go back to her inner ranting when she did a double-take.

"Oh. My. God."

Having watched her put the trolley's contents onto the conveyer belt of the cashier, Inuyasha had been thrilled to see the packages and bottles move on their own and so had looked around for anything he too could put on. He had managed to grab a couple of magazines but the rest were out of reach. He had then turned to his right to find an entire metal rack of tiny square packages that were well within his short arm's reach and so had proceeded to pluck each and every one of them off and dropped them onto the moving belt.

The other shoppers, and the cashier before her, were desperately trying to keep their giggles and guffaw's in check when her face turned bright red once she had identified the now fifty-plus small packages slowly moving past her on the belt.

Condoms. _Flavoured _condoms.

"Tada!" Inuyasha said proudly, holding out his hands as if presenting her with a great prize.

The other shoppers could hold it in no longer and erupted with laugher, leaning against one another as tears streamed down their eyes.

Tbc…

* * *

A/N: Lots of people write about Sesshoumaru living in some grand palace in their fanfiction stories. The truth is, Sesshoumaru doesn't really have a home. Duh, he is the Lord of the Western Lands, but like Inuyasha, he is a wanderer. The writer of the series has even said in an interview that Sesshoumaru is basically homeless. Whether he has chosen to be so (his whole 'quest for conquest' bit) or simply didn't have any place to go is open to debate. However, I do recall Jaken telling Rin in episode #162 that once Sesshoumaru had found the power he's looking for he'd finally build his empire. So I suppose he's chosen to be a wanderer for now. Oh well, walking is very healthy!

How will Kagome survive the rest of the day? Will she enter the pups into the pageant? Will she ever figure out what Toutousai had tried to warn her about? What is Inuyasha going to do with all those condoms? (Keep your thoughts clean, people. He's just a toddler at the moment).

Read & Review, please.


	9. Just Another Day In The Park

Title: Puppy 101

Authoress: Ladya C. Maxine

Rating: G

Summary: see chapter one

Warnings: see chapter one

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of its characters. Any and all unrecognizable characters belong solely to me and are not to be touched. I am not making any money off of this and I write with the sole intention to entertain.

* * *

"Oh, Kagome. I'm sure it wasn't that bad." 

Not looking up from where she had her head buried beneath her pillows, Kagome groaned.

"It was the most mortifying experience in my life! And that includes the time grandpa walked into the middle of math class to bring me my lunch while wearing a t-shirt and Speedos!"

"Well, it was a really hot day…"

She groaned again, rolling onto her other side, away from her mother, and pulled the blankets up over her head.

"Look, sweetie, those people were just laughing at his antics, not at _you_."

"Then why were there guys giving me their phone numbers?"

"Er…Well…You've been worrying lately about finding a boyfriend…"

"Mama!"

"Sorry."

It was silent for a moment.

"Is he still trying to eat them?" she asked wearily.

"Not exactly…"

On cue, the door opened, followed by a loud,

"Tada!"

Afraid to look but seeing as she had no choice, Kagome peaked out from under the layers of pillow and bedspread…and released the most tortured groan she had made all day, which was saying much since it wasn't even midday yet and she had been in here griping ever since returning home with the pups and the…shopping.

'Of course. What_else_ would he have possibly done with them?'

Instead of a bag of 50-plus packages, which he had stubbornly insisted on keeping and had proudly held in his hands the entire way back, the hanyou now walked in with a bunch of 50-plus…mini 'balloons', each of them tied to a piece of string and trailing behind him like a morbid float.

"Ookie!" he exclaimed, holding out a portion if his great creation to the two women.

"Oh…look at all the…pretty colours," mama said, trying to sound convincingly impressed though she eyed the phallus-shaped objects uncomfortably. "That…um…that was very…creative of you."

"Ou!" Inuyasha separated one from the bunch and held it out for mama, whose face turned bright red though she couldn't find it in her to dissuade the pup's generosity.

"I must say, I've never received anything like this," she assured, holding the dangling condom by the string as if it were a dead rat.

"I hope no one at school ever hears about this," Kagome continued her mumbling, covering her face with her pillow once more. To her already many fears, she could have sworn that one of the cashiers that had been present was in her biology class.

If she was lucky, maybe she'd suffocate…

It was silent beyond the sheets and she peeked out. Mama was still there, looking unsure on whether to continue trying to comfort her or deal with Inuyasha, who was now decorating her room with bloated condoms, wrapping their strings around door handles, chair arms and bed posts.

"Where's Sesshoumaru?" she asked.

"He was sitting downstairs. Souta's making his homework in the living room so I think he'll be alright."

"Ome?"

Sitting up, she blinked down at Inuyasha who, having finished his interior decorating, stood beside the bed, hiding something behind his back with a shy look.

"Did he just try to say my name?"

"Inuyasha, who's this?" mama asked, testing the theory, pointing at her.

"Ome!" he said proudly before touching mama's knee. "Am-am!"

"Am-am?" mama repeated, touching her chest in self reference.

"Ya."

Kagome shared an incredulous look with her mother.

"Oh my God! Mama, he knows how to…"

"Rather sudden too. Then again, he is part youkai; it could be standard by their level. Or maybe…"

"Maybe the spell is starting to wear off," Kagome filled in, feeling a small sense of optimism for the first time in hours. "Maybe we don't need to find that joker at all! Maybe the spell only lasts a few days!"

"Maybe," mama cautioned.

"Ome," Inuyasha said again in a sing-song voice, swaying side to side playfully before holding out what it was he had been hiding. A daisy that he must have plucked from the garden when they had not been paying attention. "Ikaba ou, ank ou."

Mini-Inuyasha had the same effect on her as his adult form; he could have her ripping her hair out on moment and unable to resist his charms the next. Well, adult Inuyasha didn't like to show his charms openly, but she had noticed them in the little things he did only when around her. Bless him.

"Thank you," she said, taking the flower from the small hand.

"Oki Eh-ou?"

"Sesshoumaru?"

"Ya."

"Let's go then."

Gently placing the flower on her bedside table, she untangled herself from the sheets, giving mama a peck on the cheek before picking up Inuyasha.

"You really can't stay mad or upset at kids, can you, mama?" she asked, hugging the pup close though he was more interested in the blue bow on her blouse, trying to chew on it.

"Children never do things to intentionally hurt or anger you," mama said, getting to her feet, still holding the slowly deflating condom. "All they want is love and attention. Every child needs at least one person they know they can trust. I think that Inuyasha, somehow, someway, does know who you are; a friend and companion. That's why he's so open around you."

They parted ways in the hall; Kagome heading for the stairs, Inuyasha still in her arms, while mama went to do some laundry, most of which were old clothes she had found for the pups to wear during their stay.

On her way down Kagome pondered over her mother's words.

Indeed, Inuyasha seemed to be quite comfortable no matter where they went, as long as he was with her. Even the scary hustling of city hadn't affected the pup that much during their walk to and from the supermarket. Really, if the pup had giggled and laughed with everyone after the whole little incident at the cash register, then it was safe to assume that he did indeed feel at ease, as long as she was there. It was a nice feeling to feel so needed.

"Sis, what's 54 plus 29? 105, 83 or 99?" Souta asked from somewhere beyond her line of sight.

"83!" she shouted back, peeking into the kitchen but it was empty.

"And what's 9 times 15? 123, 178 or 135"

"Uh...135."

"And 350 divided by 4? 104, 87--"

"Souta! Try doing your _own_ homework!" she shouted back when it finally dawned on her.

"Sheesh, talk about cranky…Hey, thanks!"

"No problem…huh? Who are you talking to?"

Stepping into the living room, she was surprised to find Souta seated at the low salon table with Sesshoumaru sitting opposite him. A number of papers had been arranged in a slightly sloppy pile yet the pup was holding a pencil in one hand, scribbling something on a new sheet. He looked up when she walked over, kneeling beside him.

"Hey, sis, what grade's he in?" Souta asked, pointing to Sesshoumaru. "He knew the answer to this math question."

"Did he speak?" she replied with her own question, putting Inuyasha down, who immediately crawled around behind her to sit beside his brother, watching him work with big eyes.

"No," Souta said and held up the exercise he was working on, which included one problem plus three possible answers. "He just pointed it out. Didn't you know the solution or something?"

"I do!" she huffed. "But you shouldn't depend on others to do your work."

"But isn't he too small to know how to solve math problems?"

"I don't know," she sighed and they both looked over at the brothers who weren't paying them any mind. Sesshoumaru was still scribbling and Inuyasha, having confiscated one of Souta's pencils, was trying to mimic him though was only able to produce a few crooked lines.

"What is that?" Kagome asked herself out loud after a minute, leaning over as she still couldn't understand his work. It appeared to be kanji but she didn't recognize any of the characters.

"Maybe it's like Morse code for demons!" Souta exclaimed excitedly. "Maybe he's writing secret messages to other demons."

A flat look.

"Other demons? Morse code? Souta, he's six years old, by human standards."

"Yeah, well…how many six year olds can figure out 350 divided by 4?"

He had a point.

"Sesshoumaru?"

The golden eyes turned to her and he paused in his writing. Inuyasha took the opportunity to snatch one of the finished works, scrutinizing it so closely that his nose touched the paper but, like the humans, he couldn't make heads or tails of it and placed it back on the pile with a pout, deciding to stick to his sloppy lines and dented circles.

"What does that mean?" she asked, pointing to one of the kanji-like symbols he had just finished. "What does it say?"

He looked down though she knew he was actually looking away.

"You can tell me, Sesshoumaru. Don't be afraid to say something."

He actually shifted at that, staring up at her uncertainly.

"Sesshoumaru," her eyes softened as she guessed what was troubling him, "_are_ you afraid to talk?"

Nudging the pen solemnly, he didn't respond at once…but then he nodded.

It was a rather disturbing discovery. Why would someone as young as him choose to be mute? What could have happened in the past to scare a pup into silence? He was too young…too young to have understood what had happened to him; whatever it was, it had scarred him mentally and it had scarred him bad. Perhaps this was why he was such a silent youkai as an adult? He may have grown out of the fear, since it was hard to believe that the youkai lord she knew had nothing to fear, but the trauma of whatever had happened could still be lingering in his centuries old mind.

Souta didn't know Sesshoumaru as anyone other than the pup before him and so did not truly understand the impact of the wordless confession. He merely shrugged and continued with his homework, not noticing that Inuyasha had gotten a hold of one of his fancy pens and was now using it to mark all over his agenda. Kagome would have intervened, but she just sat there, watching the older pup who seemed to have lost interest in his own work.

What did this mean? Could this be a piece of the puzzle that this solemn pup would grow up to be? Had it been his childhood, and not the loss of his father, that had moulded Sesshoumaru into the fearsome taiyoukai of the past? Again, she didn't claim to be an expert on youkai, but having spent so much time with Inuyasha, Shippo, Kirara, and Sango and Miroku (both knowing a great deal about youkai themselves), she usually could get a pretty good impression of the youkais they would meet during their journeys. But Sesshoumaru…he'd been around since the very start of her adventures, when it had just been her and Inuyasha, and still none of them, not even Inuyasha, his own brother, knew what to make of the stoic, ruthless yet proud youkai.

'I'll probably never understand you as an adult,' she though as she watched him, 'but this might be the only chance I'll get to, and I won't waste it.'

"Well, aren't we a busy group!"

Mama entered, a big basket of freshly washed and dried clothes in her hands. Putting it down and taking a seat in a chair, she started to fold the bundle though tossed a few over to Kagome who caught them out of the air. To her delight, one of them was a long jacket, dark blue but pattern-free that had once been hers. Currently it would make a nice replacement for the flower-strewn yellow one Sesshoumaru had worn to the supermarket.

"I found it all the way at the back of the attic," mama said proudly. "I remembered you getting it for your seventh birthday from my aunt. It may be a tad big for him, though."

"It's perfect," she assured. "Especially since I was just planning to take them out."

"My, my. Already?" mama giggled.

"I did say that I was going to take them to the park. Besides, there aren't any…" she glanced over at Souta, who watched her curiously, having fortunately missed the entire episode since he had still been asleep when they returned. "…items that he can grab there. And I'm sure they'll like to see more than just concrete and stoplights."

"Can I come?" Souta asked, having finished his homework. "I've gotta train for an upcoming match anyways."

"The more the merrier. Maybe Inuyasha would like to play too."

"Can he play football?"

"Eh…"

"BLEH!"

Inuyasha had chosen that time to bite Souta's pen in half, which unfortunately led it to leak all in his mouth and he was now spitting and gagging, ink spraying everywhere. Souta was quick to protect his books and notepad, choking when he saw his agenda, which now had one large puddle of ink in the middle where Inuyasha had been drawing in it.

"Bring him to the kitchen and hopefully we can wash it out before it stains too much," mama said, hurrying to said room to get some warm water running.

Souta had disappeared, both to put away his schoolwork and to collect his football, and Kagome grabbed the shocked hanyou and quickly followed mama. She was aware of the other pair of golden eyes watching as they left and could help wincing at the thought that Sesshoumaru had been forgotten by them all as they hurried to rinse his little brother's mouth of the black ink. She did not miss, however, the hopeful look in his eyes when their eyes met briefly.

* * *

"Kawaii!" 

"How adorable!"

"Are they your little brothers?"

"How beautiful!"

"Oh, aren't they just the most precious things you've ever seen?"

"What amazing eyes!"

"The little one is so friendly!"

"The bigger one looks like a porcelain doll!"

"Can I take a picture of them?"

"Do you want them to play with my children?"

"Would you like to come over for some tea?"

"Can I have one of his mittens?"

"Okay, _that_'s just freaky," Souta muttered, staying close to prevent himself from getting separated from his sister in the large crowd they had attracted.

Sighing, Kagome nodded in agreement but smiled amiably nonetheless to the fawning women who had surrounded them the moment they had entered the usually quiet corner of the park where mothers came to let their younger children, mainly toddlers, play. It was a lot quieter than the main play ground where the kids roughhoused and shouted and knocked over their smaller, unfortunate peers. Or, it was usually a lot quieter. The toddlers playing happily in the sandboxes or sliding down the low slide made no sound; it were their mothers who were squealing, shoving one another to get a better of the two little 'boys' she had.

"Are they going to be competing in the pageant?"

Souta scoffed.

"That pageant is for girls."

He then 'eeped' at the few dark looks that little remark got him.

"I'm considering it," Kagome intervened, urging Souta to keep walking by prodding him in the back with her knee. "But they have been inside all day and I think that some fresh air will be good for them."

Yeah, hint-hint, wink-wink. It worked. Kinda…

"Oh yes, fresh air does wonders for the skin. Though theirs are so smooth!"

"Make sure you wipe their faces everyday to keep the pores open."

"Some eye drops every night will help keep them clear."

"Do not use those awful hair products. Just wash their hair with simple water and soap and comb it dry."

"Do you brush their teeth four times a day as prescribed?" one woman asked, suddenly reaching out and pulling Inuyasha's mouth open t examine them.

Kagome was extremely relieved that his teeth, though somewhat pointy, weren't the distinctively canine fangs at this point. In that sense it was a good thing that Sesshoumaru didn't speak; his fangs were more developed at this age then his brother's and would raise some interesting questions if anyone ever saw them.

The same woman, now taking liberties, reached for the side of Inuyasha's head, tugging at the bonnet.

"And his ears? Do you wash behind them? I've had friends whose children had to go see the doctor because of dirty ears."

"Thank you for the tips," Kagome said briskly, quickly stepping back, getting Inuyasha away from the nosy woman. "But I'm afraid that we have to get going. Have a nice day."

She wasn't the rude type. Everyone who knew her would tell you that she was always helpful and friendly, sometimes to the point of being a bit gullible. These women had by no means intended any harm, but their persistent questions had begun to get to her, as well as the pups. Inuyasha, who at first hadn't mind the stares and voices, had shrunk back when the woman had poked at his face and Sesshoumaru had been clutching her leg so tightly she had felt his claws prick her thigh through his gloves and her jeans. That the women, mothers with all that supposed maternal instincts, had not noticed how uncomfortable and unhappy they had been making the puppies ticked Kagome off and she did not offer any apology as she marched on, holding Inuyasha, who was looking over her shoulder at the crowd, closer as she rubbed the back of Sesshoumaru's head as he peered up at her, trotting to keep up with her. Souta, still shaking from the glares, stuck close to her other side.

None of them made a sound until she found them a quiet secluded play spot. The playground sets were a bit older than the updated ones everyone preferred but they were still safe to use and she knew the pups would appreciate the peace. There was also a fairly decent area where Souta could practice.

Leaving her brother to his own devices, she carried Inuyasha over to the swings, Sesshoumaru trailing behind her. Putting the excited puppy onto the seat, Kagome walked around and gave him a gentle push. Inuyasha squeaked happily, kicking his little feet as she found a steady rhythm. For a toddler his balance was good. Even more remarkable was that he quickly got the idea and using his legs he began to swing himself, though his short stature wouldn't let him get high enough to cause any concern.

"Sesshoumaru, come here," she offered, patting the seat next to the one his brother was using.

The youkai shook his head, stepping back.

"It's alright. Look," she pointed to Inuyasha, who was laughing as he swung. "Don't you want to try it."

Again, he shook his head and she didn't miss the anxious flicker in the golden hues. It was ironic that he seemed to be afraid of a simple swing set when he had taken a hundred foot leap off of the shrine steps that morning, but, as she had learned, the mind of a youkai works in mysterious ways.

"Alright. Hmm…How about the merry-go-round?"

Studying the simple contraption she was showing him, he walked over to stand before it, taking in its brightly painted handles and platform. When it didn't do anything he found worthy of enthusiasm he looked over at her imploringly.

"You have to get on it. Like this."

Picking him up, she put him on and then slowly started to turn it. He panicked at first at the strange feeling of revolving on his own but his hands then found some stability in the bars and he calmed down, watching the world in this strange new perspective as it turned around him. He soon got used to it and got to his knees.

"Faster?" she asked at which he nodded.

Despite the increased speed, though she made sure to not go to hard before she made him sick, Sesshoumaru looked delighted. The way he was watching everything move told her that it was an strange yet enthralling thing to him. Before she could stop him, he got to his feet, easily balancing his body weight to the movement of the platform beneath him. Then, slowly, he let go of the bars and held out his arms. Closing his eyes, he allowed her to turn him around a couple more times before he opened them and met her eyes.

And then he smiled.

It was a smile that suited him despite the fact that he had never done so before in her presence. It wasn't a wide and cheerful as Inuyasha's but more sedated and mystifying. It suited his delicate features and silent nature. It was the smile of a child that was too shy to express his true feelings.

"Wow!"

Inuyasha, having spotted them, hopped off the swing and ran over, giggling as he climbed onto the merry-go-round, which Kagome halted for him. Standing up just like his big brother, he bounced on his heels as it began to turn, trying to follow the evolving world around him.

This went for many minutes until Kagome was forced to stop when Inuyasha started to go a bit cross-eyed. The hanyou swayed a bit when she put him back down on solid ground but he quickly recovered. Spotting Souta playing with his football, the hanyou skipped over to investigate. Or rather, steal the ball and run around, laughing as Souta tried to catch him, which wasn't as easy as one would think considering that Souta was bigger and (mentally) older than the pup; Inuyasha was faster, ducking underneath Souta's arms and running in the opposite direction, leaving her brother to slip and fall on the green grass.

Sesshoumaru had taken to a nearby flower patch and was watching a caterpillar crawling about intently. Seeing as Inuyasha was entertaining himself as well she allowed herself a brief break and walked back to the swings, sitting down with a relieved sigh. The pups weren't heavy but the merry-go-round could use some oiling; her back hadn't appreciated the labor.

"I'm beginning to think like grandpa," she groaned, resting her head on one of the cold chains that held the seat up.

She wondered how the others were faring in the feudal age. They would have no doubt already begun their searching, but did they have any leads? Miroku was wise and would not send them on some wild goose chase, but how does one find a poltergeist that can transport itself anywhere it wanted to at any time? Both he and Sango could easily fend for themselves and protect Shippo so she was not concerned for their safety, though she did hope that Naraku had not yet realized that Inuyasha had gone missing. Though if Kana used her mirror… Kagura was usually the one spying on them. But her loyalties were questionable.

Switching to another group, she thought of Rin and Kaede back in the little village. Were they safe there? Sesshoumaru, being lord and all that, was a much more prominent demon than his brother and his absence would be sooner noticed in the feudal western lands. Naraku, having not given up his plan of stealing Sesshoumaru's power for is own, also kept a fairly close eye on the demon lord and his little group of companions. With Sesshoumaru 'mysteriously' gone would Naraku try another sneaky plan like kidnapping Rin again in hopes of luring out the taiyoukai?

'Toutousai was right; they are both vital for the survival of Japan,' she thought, smiling sadly at the irony of the situation.

Humans in the feudal age despised and feared youkai and hanyou. The weak ones were hunted and slaughter by villagers while the more formidable ones were exterminated by demon slayers, like Sango, and monks, like Miroku. It was thus ironic that the very existence of Japan was actually in the hands of a hanyou and his full youkai brother. Of course, neither did it out of sheer goodness. Though Inuyasha did fight to protect the lives of the innocents, of all species, he was mainly out to kill Naraku and get even for what the evil jerk had done to him and Kikyou in the past. And, to be honest, the entire world of men could burn and rot in Hell (excluding Rin) for all Sesshoumaru cared as he too sought Naraku to get his revenge. Still, should they ever defeat Naraku both brothers would be ridding the entire Japanese population, and possibly the world, of a terrifying menace, whether they intended to or not.

"No, no, no, Inuyasha! Like this. Kick it like this."

Blinking out of her thoughts, she smiled to see her brother trying to teach Inuyasha how to play football correctly. The pup had grown tired of evading him and was now watching as the boy expertly juggled the ball with his feet, gold eyes wide in awe. He applauded when Souta finished, making the boy blush.

"Aw gee. I'm sure you can do it, Inuyasha. You can do anything!"

Apparently not everything. Copying Souta, Inuyasha kicked the ball upwards, knocking himself in the head. Stunned, he fell back down. Kagome rose to her feet, worried that he had hurt himself badly, but he only pouted and crawled over to the ball and picked it up, frowning at the round object.

"No!" he shouted at the inanimate object before trying it again.

Appeased that he was fine, she sat back down. Something brushed up beside her and she looked down to find a second head of white hair. Actually, Sesshoumaru's hair was more silvery, whereas Inuyasha was pure ivory.

"Do you want to go back on the merry-go-round?"

He shook his head.

"Are you sure you don't want to try the swing?"

He nodded.

"…Are you hungry?"

A day had almost gone by and while Inuyasha had eaten an entire dinner and breakfast, plus several snack in between (much to Souta's dismay; all his lollipops were now gone), Sesshoumaru had not touched anything offered to him. The only thing he had accepted was a big glass of water but that was no where near good enough.

Despite this, he shook his head.

"_Do_ you eat?"

Yes, it was stupidly blunt, but he wouldn't hold that against her in this form.

Sesshoumaru didn't respond. He didn't look all too sure himself.

"Oi! Kagome-chan!"

"Huh?" she blinked, surprised that someone had found them, much less recognized them.

Coming up the path were Eri and Ayumi, the former walking her pet chow on a leash. The two were bungled up accordingly for the cold weather and even the dog, affectionately named Ming by its master, was wearing special water-proof booties and a shawl despite its thick fur. Ayumi tended to spoil her pet though it was very cute to watch.

"Hi!" she waved back, then froze.

Oops. This was going to get complicated. She couldn't begin to recount the amount of stress and near-heart attacks she had suffered through trying to keep her friends from discovering Inuyasha's true nature. How was she going to pull it off now?

"Your grandfather said that you'd be in the park," Ayumi smiled, carrying two foam cups of hot chocolate.

"Yeah, he said that you're babysitting your cousins."

Kagome's eyebrow twitched. _Cousins?_

'That lying old goat…' she seethed.

So far she's had a near-fatal case of malaria, been bitten by a venomous viper from Brazil, almost caught hypothermia after falling into a freezing lake, broken her foot while saving a child from being crushed by a falling building (how the school ever accepted that one was totally beyond her), eaten undercooked tofu and contracted a rare case of small pox, despite the fact that the disease has not been reported in Japan for decades. How did he get away with those ridiculous excuses during her absence from school anyway? She did not know how far he was willing to go with this whole cousin thing but she was going to make sure to put an end to it the moment she got home.

"Heh? He looks familiar!"

Ayumi was bending down, looking Sesshoumaru right in the face.

"Uh…does he?" she asked, playing dumb.

"Aaaw! He's so cute!...Or is he a she?" Eri, leaning over Ayumi, said, also scrutinizing the pup.

"It's a he," Kagome stated firmly.

"He has such pretty hair! Oooh, and look at his eyes! How strange. Is he wearing contacts?"

"No."

"Hey, look! There the other one!"

Sure enough, Inuyasha was coming over, skipping lightly though he slowed down when he caught sight of the two strangers. Creeping up behind Sesshoumaru, he peeked around the bigger pup. He must have sensed that they meant no harm since he offered them a smile and waved, though didn't move away from the other.

Eri had gone all shiny-eyes by now.

"Kawaii! Kawaii, kawaii, kawaii, kawaii, kawaii, kawaii, kawaii, KAWAII!"

"Are they really your relatives?" Ayumi, being more level-headed, asked, frowning slightly.

"It's kinda complicated," Kagome laughed nervously. "All those aunts and uncles and divorces and step-family and stuff like that."

"Look Ming! Aren't they the cutest little things you've ever seen?"

Probably not. Ming, who had been more interested in the bone she had been chewing on, was now ushered forward to stand before the two. The beady eyes peered at them from a furry face…and then she growled. A low growl from deep within the stomach that was unmistakably that of a dog about to attack.

"Ming!" Eri gasped at the most unusual behaviour. "Be nice! They're just kids!"

Ignoring her master's commands, Ming suddenly lunged forward, coming just a foot short of the two who had backed away with wide eyes, Sesshoumaru looking the most scared, before the leash around her neck roughly pulled her back. Eri tightened her hold, face pale as her sweet-natured cuddle hound strained against the leash, snapping her jaws, her teeth exposed by curled fangs.

"What on earth is wrong with you!" Eri shouted, pulling with all her might. Ayumi dropped the cups she had been holding and rushed over to help. Between the two of them they managed to drag the hefty dog a safe distance away.

At the first growl Kagome had been too surprised to react but after the initial attempted attack she had fallen to her knees and shielded the puppies with her body, afraid that Eri might lose her grip. She was aware that Sesshoumaru was trembling violently and had buried his face into the front of her blouse while Inuyasha clung to him in turn. When the situation was under control she dared to turn. Souta was standing beside her, ball held above his head as if ready to throw it at the chow in case it tried to attack again.

"Kagome-chan, I'm so sorry! Ming has never acted like this before! I don't know why she did that!" Eri sobbed, distressed.

"Maybe she's just having a bad day," Ayumi pacified. "You said that you still have to feed her; maybe that's why she's a bit cranky."

"You think?" she asked hopefully. "Because…Because I don't want her to be put down! She has never acted like this. I usually bring her with me when I go to baby-sit and she loves children! She even lets babies sleep against her. I swear, she has never tried to attack anyone before. She's never even growled before! You've never heard her growl, right? But, Kagome, I am so, so sorry! I…I don't know what happened…"

Kagome did. While the long coats and the beanie hats may have fooled her friends, and everyone she'd (unfortunately) come across so far, superficial cover-up could not hide the pups' demon nature from beings with far better senses. Ming had no doubt smelled that the two golden-eyed youngsters were not human, but were neither animals. And, if she were to wage a guess, she'd say that it was most possible that the chow had detected the canine spirits in the two, making them two unknown but potential rivals. As an reincarnated miko Kagome could sense the youkai essence on the pups, especially Sesshoumaru, but there was a fair large chance that Ming could sense it even better and that must have triggered the dogs atypical behaviour.

"It's okay, Eri," she said though she kept her arms wrapped around the pups. "Ming is probably just having a bad day."

"B-But what if it's just the start of something? What if she starts attacking other children?" Eri fretted, her arms around the dog's thick mane. Ming had calmed down and was now sitting rather harmlessly, looking all cuddly and cute in her pink booties.

"She won't. Trust me on this. She won't," Kagome assured.

She was going to make sure, though, to keep both brothers as far away from the chow as possible.

"Come, Eri. Let's go to the supermarket and we can buy some of that new dog food we saw on the television. You know, I can get pretty cranky too when I haven't eaten for a while. Come on, stand up. We'll get her something to eat, bring her home and we'll pass by Kagome later to visit her cousins, okay?"

Herding her friend and the dog before her, Eri still stuttering her deepest apologies, Ayumi waved the quartet goodbye. Soon both girls and the chow disappeared up the lane.

A silence fell upon the small group and Souta turned to his big sister.

"Oh my god," she sighed, eyes wide for some reason.

"Yeah, that overgrown mutt almost made mince meat out of Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru."

Mince meat…Staring at where her friends had been standing, with Ming, her mind began to turn again, the wheels slowly grinding but gradually picking up speed.

"Maybe…"

"Maybe?" Souta echoed, tossing his foot ball to himself.

All engines were go.

"It could be possible…"

"What could be possible?"

With Ming gone both pups uncurled themselves from her torso, Inuyasha sniffing the air to make sure the scary furry thing was indeed gone.

Ming was gone…to eat…

Looking at Sesshoumaru, who peeked back at her, she studied his human-like features that could easily fool people at first glance. The human-like features that was used to hide his true nature…

"Come on," she said suddenly, grabbing Inuyasha and getting to her feet, reaching for Sesshoumaru who accordingly held out his hand. "We're going home."

"Already? Why?" Souta asked, running to catch up with her.

"Because it's lunch time and these two have to eat."

"What are you going to give him?" he asked, nodding towards Sesshoumaru who had to jog to keep up. "He doesn't want to eat anything."

"I think I know how to get him to eat."

"How?"

"I'll show you guys when we get home."

Tbc…

* * *

A/N: Clever girl, that Kagome. Seriously, I think that she's the only female character I like, despite having watched a lot of anime series. She's just very down to earth yet funny and brave at the same time. Note that though I am incorporating Inuyasha fairly enough in the story (can't just ignore the little sweetie, now can I?) I am focusing more on Sesshoumaru. Why? Well, he's just more mysterious than Inuyasha so it's always fun to write him, plus that Inuyasha and Kagome get plenty of attention in the series as it is as a couple. No, this is NOT a romance fic, but I just like writing Kagome and Sesshoumaru together under these circumstances. Puppy power! 

So, what has Kagome figured out about little Sesshie? Could it possibly have something to do with Toutousai's warning…? (Yeah, I still haven't revealed that yet). And what did happen to Sesshie that scared him into taking a vow of silence? The revelations continue...

Important: no Chows were euthanized in the making of this story.

Read & Review, please.


	10. Puppy Power

Title: Puppy 101

Authoress: Ladya C. Maxine

Rating: K

Summary: see chapter one

Warnings: see chapter one

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of its characters. Any and all unrecognizable characters belong solely to me and are not to be touched. I am not making any money off of this and I write with the sole intent to entertain.

* * *

"Transform?"

Mama paused in her work. Looking down, she eyed the pup at her daughter's side quizzically and a bit suspiciously. Souta, who had taken a seat at the kitchen table, shifted his chair away, eyes big at the news.

Nodding, Kagome kept close to Inuyasha, who she had placed on top of the counter, making sure he didn't wriggle and fall off. He had proven himself well capable of balance on the swings back in the park but her excitement had rubbed off on him and he was now giggling and bouncing on his rear on the flat surface. Kagome couldn't help imagining adult Inuyasha doing the same thing. If he didn't have any recollection of his adventures as a puppy then she was going to make sure to fill him in on it, just to see what his reaction would be to finding out that he had giggled, bounced and cuddled his older half-brother.

On the other hand, she _really_ didn't think it would be a good idea to let Sesshoumaru in on the entire ordeal when he returned to his normal self.

And speaking of which…

"Yes, he can," she said, looking down at Sesshoumaru who looked up, puzzled as to why everyone was staring at him.

"Transform into what?" mama asked.

"His true form."

"So what's that?" Souta asked, pointing to the pup's current appearance. "Why does he look like a human?

"Because…um…"

Yeah, why did Sesshoumaru spend so much time in his human form? Of course, he would balk at the idea of being compared to mankind, but for lack of a better description he usually did pass for a man. A stunning man, almost elven like, but she wasn't about to admit that in his presence, puppy or not, since she didn't know if either would remember any of this. Back to the main topic, if Sesshoumaru craved so much power, power he could obtain to the fullest when in his true form, why did he prefer this false body? Then again, it couldn't really be called false for it was a part of him, not some mirage or illusion. But then…what…why…? Argh! Was there _anything_ about this youkai she'd ever understand?

"I don't know," she admitted. "But I do know that he has two forms."

"And…what's his second form?"

"A white dog. A_ really_ big white dog," she emphasized.

"Cool! If he transforms can I bring him to school?"

"Now, now, Souta," mama shook her head. "We don't use our guests as school projects. But Kagome," she turned back to her daughter, "why do you want him to transform?"

Almost bursting to tell her hypothesis, Kagome placed Inuyasha down on the ground, knowing that he'd latch on to Sesshoumaru (which he did) in one of his many sudden needs for a cuddle, and began to explain her plan.

"He hasn't eaten anything since coming here. Youkai can go for weeks without eating but he's just a puppy so he must eat something at least once a day," she informed, based on what Sango had once told her during their travels. "I couldn't understand why he wasn't eating until we met up with Ayumi and Eri in the park with Eri's pet Ming. It's a long story but in the end they thought that Ming was acting strange because she hadn't eaten anything yet."

"What does a chow have to do with him being a youkai?" Souta frowned, resting his head on his folded arms.

"Inu youkai," she reminded. "And I think that the reason he isn't accepting anything is because this isn't his natural form, sort of. If he transforms into his dog form, then maybe he'll eat."

Mama thought it over, nodding faintly.

"That does sound like a plausible theory…"

Meanwhile, Sesshoumaru had taken a seat on the floor, tired of standing. This placed him at the perfect height for Inuyasha, who tackled him only to be subdued when arms wrapped around him, keeping him trapped in his brother's lap and try as he might, through wriggling and squirming, he was unable to escape. Sesshoumaru still watched them attentively as if he wasn't holding on to a bundle of energy.

"It's worth a shot," Kagome said, willing to try anything to get some solid substance into the pup before he starved himself to death. "I bet his instincts are stronger when in his other form; he will eat something!...I hope."

While mama and Souta still had some doubts, she was determined to make it work. She may not have been around Sesshoumaru often enough to know of his eating pattern in the past, but there was one person who had; Rin. The little orphan was hardly ever separated from her lord, except when he went to battle, or took a bath. Rin had mentioned that she had never seen Sesshoumaru eat. Kagome doubted that the girl even knew of the youkai's other side; Sesshoumaru didn't show his true form often and it was highly unlikely that Rin would be present should the situation call upon him to do so. But Sesshoumaru_ had_ to eat. And if he did not do so when around Rin, in his human form, then he most likely did so when away from her. He probably hunted in his true form anyways; the human-like form of Sesshoumaru hardly ever got involved in anything messy. His clothes and hair were always in pristine condition, despite his constant travelling and hard battles.

"So…how are you going to do it?"

"Huh?" she blinked, her thoughts fading at mama's voice.

"Can you order him to transform or something?" Souta asked, having gotten over his initial apprehension, and approached the youkai. Inuyasha had finally managed to get away and was now playfully swatting at his brother's tail which twitched with each strike of his hand. The hanyou had been a quick learner though; he knew better than to bite it again.

That was a good question. Unfortunately, after having come up with her brilliant hypothesis she hadn't really worked the rest out. Sesshoumaru might eat when he turns into that dog, but exactly_ how_ she was going to get him to do so was something she had not given much thought over.

"And just how big are we talking about?" mama asked, again being the voice of reason.

Her mind must have fried after the initial brain storm; she had completely forgotten about the size factor as well. Looking sheepishly, she looked around the kitchen.

"When he was an adult…more than twice as tall as our house."

"Really? No way!" Souta shouted, his close proximity to Sesshoumaru making it a very unpleasant experience for the pup who covered his ears at the loud sound.

"No shouting in the house," mama scolded gently. "And I think it would be best if you have him transform somewhere else. Lord knows what would happen if he transforms inside the house. Never mind the amount of damage he'd cause, you also risk him crushing himself to death."

"I don't think he'll be so big since he's a pup now," Kagome said thoughtfully. An idea flashed in her head. "How about the old kendo training hall? Grandpa doesn't use it anymore and Sesshoumaru can't possibly be bigger than that now that he's so young."

Quickly setting the fire lower as the vegetables had begun to burn, mama fanned the smoke.

"In any case I can't have you busy here; we'll distract each other. The training hall is the best place I can think of. You can't risk doing this outside in the open. Just be careful."

"I want to come too!" Souta exclaimed, dancing around Kagome and Sesshoumaru while Inuyasha danced with him, just for the fun of it. "Wow, I'm gonna see a real demon! Can I take a picture? I won't show it to anyone, I promise!"

"Too risky," Kagome denied, catching Inuyasha before he bumped into mama, who was busy lifting a heavy pot of boiling water off the stove. "Let's just try it before dinner. If it works then mama can save some raw meat for him."

"Eeeeeeeew," Souta groaned, sticking out his tongue as they stepped into the entrance hall. "Raw meat again? What makes you think he'll eat that?"

"Because if he only eats in his real form then he eats things that he normally hunts down in the forest, and those aren't cooked."

Quickly dressing the two in their jackets and shawl despite their destination being only a couple hundred feet away from the house, Kagome mulled over how she was going to get the youkai to change forms. Why hadn't it crossed her mind earlier?

Closing the large wooden doors behind her as they entered the kendo room a few minutes later, she still hadn't come up with a solution. The room was heated by an old fashion heater so she removed both puppies' coats. Inuyasha, eyes wide as he took in the large space, ran around for a bit and proceeded to turn on the spot until dizziness made him land with a giggle on his butt. Leaving Souta to amuse the hanyou for a while, she lead Sesshoumaru to the centre of the room.

"Okay…" she took a deep breath. "Go ahead."

The youkai, who had been watching Inuyasha's antics, blinked up at her. Keeping face, she gestured with her hands.

"Go on. Transform."

Blink.

"You know…Do that whole wind-tornado-flash thingy."

Blink.

Maybe, since he was so young, he only transformed when utterly necessary. Let's see. Hmmm. Perhaps he'd do so in self-defence…?

Faking calm, she placed her hands behind her back and began to whistle, harmlessly looking around. Sesshoumaru watched her a while longer but when she did nothing else he turned back to Inuyasha, who was being dragged across the ground as he clung by his teeth on the cuff of Souta's jeans, the boy trying to get him off in vain. Kagome, however, kept an eye on the youkai. His guard was down. She hoped this worked…

"BOO!" she shouted loudly, lunging forward with her arms raised.

The poor thing almost hit the ceiling, stumbling back with wide eyes at her unexpected action. Inuyasha yelped, releasing Souta to dash behind some boxes, covering his eyes. Sesshoumaru was faring no better. He had lost his balance and now laid sprawled out on the floor, trembling, scared and un-transformed.

'You dolt!' she cursed herself, falling to her knees before the petrified puppy. 'What made me think that that was a good idea? Even if he did transform I shouldn't be scaring him like that.'

"Oh, I'm sorry, Sesshoumaru!" she said, placing her hands over her heart to show how much she meant it. "I shouldn't have done that. It was a stupid idea. I was just trying…I promise that I won't do that again. I swear. Come here, please?"

He slowly crawled over, his little tail between his legs and steps hesitant but he was soon within reach and she pulled him onto her lap, wrapping her arms around him and stroking his long mane, soothing him with soft sounds. How weird was this? Her comforting the great youkai lord of the western lands. Even though she kept reminding herself who this peaceful pup in her arms really was, she couldn't deny him affection. Still whispering her apologies, she rocked him back and forth.

"Ome?"

Inuyasha had dared to come over, peering at her warily, not sure if she would frighten them again. A white ear hung floppily while the other was perked as he knelt before her with his small hands on the floor. Shifting Sesshoumaru to one thigh, she pulled his brother up onto the other. Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru…sitting in her lap. The vision of both doing so all grown up made her laugh and blush at the same time.

"Feeling better?" she asked them after a few silent minutes.

Inuyasha clambered off her lap and pretended to chase his tail, running in circles and then trying to run in a straight line. He looked drunk, swaying and stumbling about on all fours. He sure made a speedy recovery.

Sesshoumaru was no longer trembling but he remained seated, his head resting on her shoulder. Had he gone into shock? No, he looked up, studying her with those golden eyes. They mystified yet also disturbed her, despite their calm brilliance. Something was hidden in there. Beneath the surface brewed an unspoken intellect, but also a darkness. Were they his fears? Did he still see them before him, scared but unable to banish them? Had her idiotic technique reminded him of something that had happened to him?

"Sesshoumaru, can you transform?" she asked, opting for a more sensible method.

Again…blink.

"Do you know what I'm talking about?"

He tilted his head to one side, confused.

"Transform. Do you know what 'transform' means."

The pup frowned slightly, but hesitantly nodded. That was a good sign.

"Have you ever transformed before?"

Another slow nod. That was an even better sign.

"Can you transform for me now?"

Pause…he shook his head. That was a bad sign.

"You don't want to?" she asked, trying to solve this despite it being a one-way conversation.

He shook his head…no, he nodded…no, shook…He was at a loss and looked with frustration at her, wanting to give her the full answer but unable to do so.

'He's not just giving me random answers,' she told herself. 'He's smart enough to understand me. I have to formulate that last question better. If he can't say if it's a matter of wanting to transform, but he has done so in the past, then how…'

"Can you transform on your own?" she decided to bring mama's question back into play.

The dilemma in golden eyes eased up and she knew that that was what he had been hoping she'd ask. He shook his head, definite this time.

It made sense. He was still young and maybe the ability to change to his true form was one he only acquired at an older age. Toutousai had said how dangerous life for a young youkai could be. This 'human' appearance was no doubt smaller than the canine form, making it easier for Sesshoumaru to hide from dangerous enemies when he had been younger. But if the pup couldn't transform at will on his own then how did he eat…?

His father. Inutaisho. The old sword maker had told them that Inutaisho had been a very diligent father who kept his son close while the pup had been growing up. He would have had to feed Sesshoumaru, meaning that he probably had influence on the pup's transformation. His mother as well, up until her passing.

'But since he isn't here…Does that mean that…Sesshoumaru can't transform for now?'

"Did you mother and father teach you how to transform?"

He nodded, proudly at that.

She bit her lower lip, studying the youngster who in turn studied her, patiently waiting for her to continue her interrogation. But she didn't know what to do. Without his parents Sesshoumaru couldn't return to his true form, meaning that he couldn't eat, meaning that he…

'Don't you dare, Kagome Higurashi!' she scolded herself. 'You are not going to give up so early! You have to find a way to get him to eat. Whether he can transform or not! Screw it, you are not going to give up!'

The pep talk helped her confidence, but it didn't offer any possible solution. The solution came, surprisingly, from Souta. He had disappeared into the storage room a while ago but now emerged with his prize.

"Hey, sis! Look what I found!" he shouted, running over with something that she could only make out to be terribly dusty. Inuyasha ran on all fours beside him, prancing from one side to the other, dashing across in front of the boy before mockingly stalking him. It was amazing how playful Inuyasha was as a pup, considering what a drag he could be sometimes as an adult. The two reached the seated pair and Souta held out his finding to her. "Grandpa cleaned this place out two weeks ago but he must have forgotten this."

A book. One of the hundreds of ancient artefacts that was kept in their family's shrine. It was very thick and Souta's arms strained a bit holding up its weight.

"Souta, put it back. Grandpa doesn't like us touching these things," she said without much excitement, mind grappling for ideas on how to get at least one chicken leg into Sesshoumaru's stomach.

"Maybe there's a spell in here that can help," he shrugged, transferring the book to one arm. Trying to read the cover, he could not see through all that dust and grime so taking a huge breath he blew over it, producing a large cloud of dust.

"Souta!" she coughed, fanning the air before her as the cloud blew in her and the puppies faces. "Be careful!"

"Sorry…" he blushed. "Just trying to help."

"Now I'm going to have to give them a bath," she sighed, not looking forward to yet another bath-time adventure. "And I know you want to help, but I don't think that there's any spell that--"

"Achoo!" Inuyasha interrupted.

Great. She shot Souta a pointed look and he shrugged.

"Sneezing never killed anyone," he defended.

She opened her mouth to scold him anyway but the pup in her lap wriggled. Looking down she watched as the small nose wrinkled. Sesshoumaru's eyes were watering and he kept rubbing his nose, trying to clear it from all the dust but some must have gotten up in there and was now tickling him terribly. Climbing off her lap onto the floor, he remained there on his knees, face twitching as the inevitable drew near. One good sneeze would be enough to get it all out, though Inuyasha was still sneezing, trying to cover his nose with his hands, his ears drooping. Sesshoumaru was fairing no better. Just a few more seconds…

"If they get lung infection I'm holding you accountable," she warned her brother who grinned sheepishly. "Honestly, Souta. How many times has grandpa told us not to mess with those things. What if it had been a sword and the puppies, or yourself, got hurt?"

"Well…"

"Ah…"

A voice that was not Inuyasha's broke through their discussion. Sesshoumaru was still struggling with the dust particles in his sinuses but was losing the battle. Though it was the first time she had ever heard him make any vocal sound it was barely audible.

"Aah…"

"It's okay, Sesshoumaru," she nodded, patting him on his back. "Just let it out and you'll feel a lot better."

"Ah…Ah…Aaaah……."

Nothing.

"I hate when that happens," Souta sighed. "Your nose stays itchy all day and then--"

"ACHEEEE!"

**_BOOM_**

Kagome screamed as a huge cloud of emerald flames erupted between them, blowing her back several feet. A bright green wave of hot steam flushed over her, the force tugging at her clothes and hair. Something flailing wildly rolled past her, its light mass being batted around by the force of the blast. She quickly reached out when she recognized it to be Inuyasha. Holding him close to her chest, she covered his head to protect him as much as possible. Would the ceiling come down? Had a gas pipe erupted? Where was Souta? Where was Sesshoumaru? Were they going to die? The rumble rolled on for several seconds before fading, leaving her ears ringing. Daring to take a peak, she opened one eye. The entire hall was clouded by a green hue but she was surprised to find that no damage appeared to have been done to the interior. The roof was still intact above their heads and with the exception of the strong acidy smell the place looked the same.

"Owie," Inuyasha moaned, rubbing his head.

Getting up, she inspected him but found no lump or bleeding, much to her relief. She kissed the spot for good measure and Inuyasha seemed content with that.

"Sis?" Souta coughed from somewhere before them though she couldn't see him since the smoke was unusually thick there. "Sis?"

"We're alright," she called back. "Are you okay?"

"My elbow kinda hurts. What happened?"

"I don't know but…Where's Sesshoumaru? Is Sesshoumaru with you?" she asked, unable to spot hide or hair of the other pup.

"I don't see him. I can't even see you! The smoke here is so thick and…AAHH! KAGOOMEE!"

"Souta!" she shouted, scrambling to her feet with Inuyasha clutching her blouse. "What's wrong?"

"There's something in the smoke!"

"What do you mean?"

"I walked into something! Oh my God! I don't wanna die!"

The smoke was slowly clearing. The fear Souta's horrified screams had brought on diminished when she got a better view of the mysterious 'monster'. What she had earlier thought to be very thick smoke between Souta and her was actually been a solid barrier of…fur?

"S-Sesshoumaru?" she wondered aloud, taking another step closer.

The thing moved, sweeping the green fog away from it. Both her and Souta's jaw dropped and Inuyasha whimpered.

Disoriented, the large body, bigger than a city bus, rose from where it had been laying sprawled out on the floor on its tummy. Now crouched in a 'small' ball, its back was but a meter from the ceiling. It was pure white, the only other colour being a patch of grey over one shoulder. Kagome started when something moved behind her but turning she realized that she was standing in the alcove made by a long and very fluffy tail. Though it was missing the muscled tone of an adult, as well as the wicked claws and acidic saliva, this creature was unmistakably familiar.

"Sesshoumaru," she said positively.

It shifted again. Large puppy-dog eyes appeared from behind the grey fringe. Unlike the rabid red glow she had seen the first time, the eyes were now blue. Light, light blue. Much like the eyes of a newly born pup that had just opened them. A short snout with a light pink nose pointed towards her. Round but floppy ears twitched at the sound of his name. It looked like a giant Akita puppy.

Kagome was caught between gasping, sighing in relief and awing. It worked. Well, accidentally, but Sesshoumaru had transformed. And…Awwwwwww! He looked so adorable! Reaching out with her free hand, she brushed the downy fur on his flank.

"Pretty…"

That made for a perfect dumb-blonde moment but she couldn't resist.

"I think we're gonna need a lot more meat, sis," Souta observed, edging around the youkai's front. "…Does he eat people?"

"Demons usually do, but the Sesshoumaru I know would rather go hungry than 'infect' himself with mortal flesh. We're safe."

"Eh-ou?"

Inuyasha wriggled his way down and slowly crept closer. This would be the first time he'd seen his half-brother's true form as a child. Still, the hanyou recognized the other by his scent.

The massive body shifted again as Sesshoumaru tried to turn but he rose too high and his back almost cracked the beams above him. He froze, beginning to get distraught at being trapped in this place. Kagome was at his side by the first whimper, rubbing the spot between his eyes to try and ease his rattled nerves. Inuyasha copied her, patting a large paw with both his little hands.

"It's alright, Sesshoumaru," she cooed, staring him in the eyes. "You're okay. Do you know who I am?"

A wet, pink tongue rolled out and licked her, covering her entire left side with doggy drool. She froze, not wanting to show disgust when it had obviously been an affirmative and affectionate action. At least he hadn't developed his poisonous saliva yet, though the smell wasn't all that refreshing. Dog breath…yuck. Wiping as much of the gunk off her, she forced a smile.

"I'll take that as a yes. So you can understand me, right?"

Despite her brave face he could tell that she didn't appreciate being licked so he made a small yip. Resting his chin on the floor, his cold nose just barely touching her knee, he seemed to be trying to get himself together. The transformation had taken him off guard as well. He was uncomfortable, certainly. Though wide and long enough, the dojo wasn't high enough, restricting his movements in an already awkward situation. This did not sit well with Sesshoumaru, who was beginning to get frantic, big eyes shifting rapidly all over. Desperate, he identified the closed doors and creeping forward on his tummy, he tried to claw his way out.

"Look out!" Souta shouted when his tail knocked over a rack of training equipment.

The clattering sound only scared the already jumpy pup whose natural instincts were to get up and run but his back hit the ceiling and though the support beams cracked they did not give, reinforcing the fact that he was trapped. Sesshoumaru began to pant, seeking an escape, any escape.

"Sesshoumaru!"

She had to be careful as she tried to reach him, ducking and side-stepping his swishing tail and scattering limbs. Hopping over a kicking hind leg, she managed to reach his side and latched on to the fur, tugging it to get his attention. Breathing heavily, he turned his head towards the force, pink tongue hanging out of his mouth. She could feel the shivers running through the body and up till the tips of his fur in her hands.

"This place is a good place. Don't be afraid."

He whimpered, looking longingly at the door.

"I know you want to go out, but you can't. You too big now! And we can't let anyone see you like this or we'll be in even bigger trouble. This is the safest place you can be for now, alright? Trust me?"

He nudged at the door a few times with his nose, but his efforts were less lively. He was more defeated than understanding, but he settled down, resting his head between his paws with a series of scared whimpers.

Inuyasha, having luckily stay out of his big brother's way, walked around the front paws to kneel before the white snout and tenderly rubbed the top of the pink nose. Sesshoumaru snorted softly but gave the hanyou a small lick, his large tongue almost soaking him. Inuyasha giggled and hugged the nose in return, laying his head on the cold skin.

"Eh-ou."

Sinking to the ground, relieved to have avoided a potentially hazardous outcome, Kagome rubbed her eyes. She really should start thinking her plans through from start to finish. And now what? Should she push on and now try to get the youkai to eat, or should she just spare him the discomfort and try to return him to his smaller form? Chances of her succeeding in the second option were slim so she decided to stay on course.

"Souta."

"Yeah?" he replied, coming to stand at her side, still dazed by the incident, and the fact that they now had a one ton white dog demon in their backyard, er, dojo.

"I need you to go inside and ask mama for some of tonight's meat."

"I don't think we'll have enough even if we gave him everything in the freezer," he said wisely. "He can eat an entire cow on his own!"

"I want to see first if he will eat anything. If he does then we're just going to have to make a couple of phone calls and visit the neighbours."

Souta left on his mission. Sesshoumaru watched longingly as he slipped out the door, shutting it behind him to keep out the cold. The white ears, which were quite similar to Inuyasha's, sagged. Inuyasha sat back on his haunches. He tilted his head to one side, then the other. Pouting, he scuttled off. Both she and Sesshoumaru looked on as he pushed six of the cardboard boxes he had hidden behind earlier over. Bringing them before Sesshoumaru, between his front paws, Inuyasha made a grand show, spreading his arms apart as he proceeded to pile the boxes on top of each other. He spoke as he worked, making the action all the more entertaining.

"Nana iku ny meratutu daaa! Poki ogi eeda gup-gup! Tadaaa!"

All six boxes were now piled up upon one another, forming an unsteady tower of cardboard that was almost taller than Sesshoumaru. The white puppy studied the shabby architecture and moved in to investigate, sniffing the base. The tower wobbled unsteadily…and collapsed all over Sesshoumaru. The near weightless containers didn't hurt him in the least but he did looked surprised to have caused its demise. Inuyasha erupted in peals of laugher and fell to the floor, terribly amused. Confused, Sesshoumaru looked at her but she was no help as she was hiding her laugher behind her hand. Puppy or human-like, the look on the Lord of the Western Lands' face was priceless.

"Oki, Eh-ou!" Inuyasha called out. Sitting on the floor, he grabbed a nearby box and putting all his force behind it, he shoved it forward towards his brother. He then held his arms out, clearly wanting the other to return it.

Sesshoumaru blinked but accordingly used his nose to push it back. Inuyasha squealed and volleyed it back. This only bewildered the older pup. What was the hanyou doing? Did he want the box or not? He nudged it back, only to have it shove back under his nose. It wasn't until they had done so for about seven times before he realized that this was the only point to this action. Inuyasha, in a rarely seen display of strength for his size and age, lifted the large box above his head and threw it into the air. Sesshoumaru stretched out his neck and caught it perfectly on his nose as a seal would balance a ball. He held it for a long time steadily, earning an applause from both Inuyasha and Kagome. By the time Souta returned Inuyasha had managed to stack three boxes, one on top of the other, on Sesshoumaru's nose while the youkai accordingly held still.

"Mom says that she'll call the butcher first thing in the morning if this works," Souta said, studying the two, perplexed. "She's sure that she can get a lot of meat for a low price since she's good friends with the butcher's wife, though we're gonna have to ask grandpa to come up with an excuse for why we need so much meat."

"His wild imagination will finally be put to good use," she muttered, taking the bowl and finding two pieces of pork. The wrapped parcel he was left holding was familiar. It was the leg of lamb that mama had been saving for a special occasion.

"It's for a good cause," Souta shrugged, holding up the leg. "Mama said that if he's still hungry then she'll go down to the neighbours and asked them for more."

"That's great. Come on."

They made their way over to their feudal guests, who were still absorbed in playing with the boxes but Sesshoumaru's nostrils flared and he made a loud sniffing sound, craning his neck to look behind him as they approached. The pink tongue lolled out of his mouth and he whined, clumsily spinning on the spot to face them, his eyes fixed squarely on the meat. That was a very good sign. Putting down the bowl, she picked up one of the two raw slabs of pork and held it out before her. He wagged his tail, almost knocking Inuyasha off his feet but the hanyou managed to skip over to stand next to her, eyeing the uncooked flesh in her hand with more curiosity than appetite. Clearly he preferred his own food well done.

"Hey, he wants it!" Souta exclaimed happily.

"Thank goodness," she sighed, turning to him. "When can mama…"

She trailed off as his face paled. Turning back, she yelped to find a open mouth lined with sharp teeth about to descend on the pork, as well as her arm! She yanked the pork away and stepped back just as the jaws clamped shut with a loud snap.

"Sesshoumaru!"

He flinched and lowered his head shamefully.

"That's dangerous. You could have hurt me," she scolded, wagging her finger. "You have to be patient, alright? Now, open your mouth. Slowly. And do not close it until I say so."

Damn, what sharp teeth he had. Whereas his human form had moderately pointy teeth, these were fully developed and strong, though Toutousai had said that these were only his baby teeth. Hmm, could this have been what the old goat had warned her about? It had to be. Thinking back, she should have inquired about Sesshoumaru's transformation and how the spell would affect it. As to why it was that the pup could only transform by sneezing was something she was going to have to ask the sword maker, or Myoga, when she went back in…6 days. She was in for a long week.

Daringly stepping forward and inhaling deeply, despite the doggy breath blowing in her face from the open mouth, she leaned in and placed the pork on the tip of the quivering tongue. She had to slightly stick her upper body into the cavern of the mouth to do so and shuddered at the situation; she could safely pull this off (she hoped) but how many unfortunate youkai and maybe even human cattle have met their demise in this very mouth, especially when Sesshoumaru had been a full grown youkai? Those sharp teeth, then coated with acid, cracking bones and melting flesh as that then blood red tongue manoeuvred the dying victim to the back of the mouth and throat…What interesting stories she'll be able to tell her children in the future.

"There you go," she said, stepping back. "Try it."

Though it was a pretty sizeable piece of pork it was far from enough to satisfy the youkai pup and was most likely put a snack, but Sesshoumaru eagerly ate it, jaws working the meat into a mushy mass before swallowing loudly. Licking his mouth, he fervently watched her and the second helping of pork, though the aroma coming from the parcel in Souta's arms wasn't lost to him. Just as hungrily devouring the remaining pork, he was looking a lot more perky, nudging Souta in an attempt to get the meat away from his without hurting him. Souta eep'ed and quickly tossed the leg to her and she unwrapped it. It was still frozen but she doubted that that would be of any concern to him. Bravely, she held it out towards him by the tip of the bone. Would he take another snap? She could easily loose her hand or an arm. Instead, the leg was cautiously plucked from her hold by his front teeth before he tossed back his head, barely grazing the ceiling, and loudly crunched on it. It was gone in less than five seconds.

Mission accomplished.

"We're gonna need a lot more meat," Souta concluded.

"Ya," Inuyasha agreed, nodding with a wise look.

"Sis?"

"Hm?"

"…What are we gonna do if he has to go to the doggy bathroom?"

Oy vey.

Tbc…

* * *

A/N: Ooooh! I drew the most adorable Sesshy puppy to go along with this chapter but we still don't have that new scanner and it's driving me insane! I've got drawings for almost every chapter but I can't put them online.

Sesshoumaru's transformation is indeed what Toutousai had been trying to tell Kagome. I wanted to make that clear in the text but it didn't come over convincingly so I'm just stating that now. Just so that you know.

Read & Review, please.


	11. Swinging Good Time

Title: Puppy 101

Authoress: Ladya C. Maxine

Rating: T

Summary: see chapter one

Warnings: see chapter one

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of its characters. Any and all unrecognizable characters belong solely to me and are not to be used by any other. I am not making any money off of this and I write with the sole intention to entertain.

A/N: Damn, I'm actually nearing the 1000 review mark…and this fic isn't even halfway through yet! Big kiss to you all! Love you, especially those who left nice, lengthy reviews!

* * *

Something startled her to awareness. Her mind still sleep logged, she jumped back, upsetting the pup that had been cuddled up against her side. Inuyasha fell back onto the quilt with a whine, blearily opened one eye, then the other, before yawning widely and stretching where he lay. Kagome blinked at the scene before her memory finally caught up with the situation. Sitting up straighter, untwisting her pajamas, she turned away from the hanyou, studying the source of her rude awakening. 

The white mass was whimpering in its sleep, it legs twitching as if it was chasing something. Another big spasm shook its entire body and the large puppy whined, its eyelids quivering, caught in some dream.

"Eh oh!"

Inuyasha, wide awake, crawled back over and snuggled against the thick fur, which had provided them warmth during the chilly night in the large space. No longer cold, but alert, he looked up at her expectantly.

"Hello to you too," she yawned, tucking her feet beneath the thick quilt they were sitting on. "You're certainly a much brighter morning person as a puppy, aren't you?"

"Ika!"

A loud thump interrupted them. The heavy tail rose and fell again, striking the floor boards and resounding in the empty training hall. Seeking to appease the dreaming puppy, Kagome reluctantly left their makeshift bed and, stepping over a shaking paw, she knelt before the youkai. Mindful not too frighten the sleeping creature, she gently ran a hand over his snout. The whimpering lessened and the tail fell still.

"You and Souta are bad sleepers," she noted, rubbing her eyes with her other hand.

Sesshoumaru did not react, once more deep in sleep, his dreams (or nightmares?) gone for now.

"Ome," a little voice called her.

Inuyasha was struggling to carry the quilt, blankets and pillows on his own, and was not making much progress since they kept getting tangled in his legs, or dragged him down. Catching on, she hurried over and relieved him of the bundled burden, allowing him to keep one pillow just to give him the satisfaction of having contributed to the move. Shaking out the quilt, she spread it out between the two front paws. Tossing down the pillows, she lifted Inuyasha, with his comforter, over the paw and placed him on the cloth before draping a blanket over him. He laughed and burrowed himself deeper into it before, wadded up like a cotton swab, he teetered over and fell onto his side, giggling uncontrollably. Checking her watch, she groaned when she saw that it was only something past six.

'And Inuyasha seems wide awake…'

The hanyou soon got bored of falling down. He rolled over to her.

"Ome?"

"Hm?" she groaned, fighting to keep her eyes open, still stroking Sesshoumaru's muzzle.

"Inikiniki maka?"

"That's nice."

"Boeki?"

"Lovely."

"Yamia babababa kina iki biki tah?"

"Whatever you want."

"…"

She pried her eyes open to find him watching her with a hesitant face. The white ears sagged and he pulled his knees to his chest with a resigned expression.

'Good work, girl,' she berated herself. 'It's not like he was ignored as a kid the first time or anything.'

Her body begged her to remain horizontal but firming herself, she sat up, wiping her eyes thoroughly this time, trying to eliminate some traces of sleep. Beaming and encouraged, Inuyasha continued on his topic of choice while she did her best to sound as interested as possible. Actually, she really _was_ interested in what the hanyou had to say; his words were just incomprehensible. She _had _noticed that certain 'nonsensical' words were often repeated, and his sentences were rather long. Maybe this was some form of young demon talk? A secret language of some sort? Sesshoumaru did appear to understand it. He didn't respond verbally, but the interaction between the two clearly proved that there was some form of communication going on.

'How much more easier this would be if you'd talk…' she bemoaned, looking over at the blissfully sleeping youkai.

It had taken them five trips to different neighbors to get enough meat to sate Sesshoumaru's hunger. Grandpa had managed to come up with a horribly creative excuse every time to evade suspicion. They had gathered enough meat, poultry and even fish to feed their household for days; Sesshoumaru had wolfed it all down quicker than they could toss it to him. He had been going at such a rate that it had not seemed like a wise idea to hand-feed him. Those jaws had been snapping and bones had been crunching and it had been easy to imagine how one could lose an arm in the feeding frenzy.

Finally, after having consumed the last ten pounds of steaks that the Yamaguchi's had generously offered (believing that they were helping Kagome in her research on Mad Cow's diseases, according to grandpa), Sesshoumaru had settled himself down on the floor, tummy full. Mama and grandpa had left to begin rounding up resources for further feedings while Souta had gone off to take a bath and make some homework. Alone with the two, Kagome had then come to a bothersome realization. Well, two, if she considered Souta's question on where on earth they could let the giant puppy out to…relieve himself.

However, until _that _problem arose, what was she going to do with him? Night had fallen a long time ago, but with his size he couldn't get out of the training hall, much less fit back into the house. Though it had a heater, the large enclosure's temperature could fall pretty low at night and while Sesshoumaru's fur would offer him more than enough protection from the cold she had been shivering already. Inuyasha had begun to get hungry and moody, tired from the long day. She had wanted to get him back in the house, get a good meal in him and put him to bed, but then the true problem arose: Who would she stay with? With Inuyasha in the house where it was warm and her bed would be very appreciated, or here with Sesshoumaru in the cold room? In the end, sympathy won out when she had looked over at the youkai. Curled up once more in a crouched position, he had been staring out the barred windows at the moon, clearly wishing to be free of the enclosure.

Leaving him here, transformed and feeling vulnerable, in a strange place that made him even more unsettled, while she slept comfy cozy in the security of her own bed and house would have plagued her all night. Formulating a plan, she had managed to eat dinner, feed Inuyasha, bathe him (which was no less awkward than the first time but now she had been on a stead-fast mission and so had forced down any freak-outs) and returned him to mama, who had sat with his big brother, marveling at his true form. She had then ran back into the house, took a bath herself before changing and, with Souta's help, rounded up as many spare blankets, comforters and pillows she could find. She had considered letting Inuyasha sleep with mama in her bed, but the hanyou had been thrilled at the idea of sleeping in the training hall, excitedly grabbing some pillows and piling them next to Sesshoumaru to make some type of fort.

'It was worth the discomfort, in the end,' she mused, watching the sleeping giant. 'He did eat. How the heck are we going to get him back to his smaller form…?'

Something nudged her side. Inuyasha, having run out of things to say, was yawning widely, rubbing his eyes with his little fists.

"Sleepy?" she asked, praying that he was.

He nodded, yawning again, his ears falling back with every gape.

Thanking Buddha for the respite, she settled him back down, wrapping him securely in the blanket and propping a pillow under his head. He drifted off before she could even finish making him comfortable. Watching him, she smiled, stroking a soft ear. The longer he stayed like this, the harder it became to remember how he was before. So wide-eyed and trusting; a far cry from the suspicious and cynical adolescence. Why was that? Myoga had once told them that Inuyasha's distrust stemmed from his past dealings with others, without the protection of his mother. He was, supposedly, fairly young, yet he had shown no signs of longing for his mother, like Sesshoumaru had. Was he just too young to remember, or had Izayoi passed away before he had reached this age?

"You are worth all those bullies put together," she whispered, brushing his white hair out of his face.

Mumbling something in his sleep, he shuffled closer, now pressed against her side.

Assured that both he and his brother were truly asleep, Kagome allowed her burning eyes to close. Holding Inuyasha close, she drifted off as well, both pups' soft snores lulling her into a light sleep.

* * *

"At least he doesn't have to eat all the time." 

Chewing her toast thoughtfully, Kagome gave a noncommittal shrug, watching the object of the conversation, who was sniffing the food tray curiously, his wet nose brushing her hand every time she reached for something.

"…We're going to need a big roll of newspaper."

"Oh?"

"You need something like that when you want to housebreak a dog," Souta pointed out seriously, sitting on the floor before her, watching her eat her breakfast.

"He's not going to stay like this much longer."

At least, she hoped not. She was not eager to spend the rest of the week in this place. Besides, it would be impossible to get Sesshoumaru back down the well if he couldn't even fit in the well house.

"How are you going to get him to change back?"

Taking the rejected orange rind from Inuyasha, who had taken an experimental bite before gagging at the taste, she pouted in thought.

"…I have no idea. All I know is that there _must _be a way to change him back."

"I hope so. It'd take a wheelbarrow to clean up after him!"

"I _really_ would rather not talk about that right now," she pleaded, forcing herself to swallow her mouthful of oatmeal.

"Bleh!" Inuyasha objected once more, this time not appreciating the bowl of porridge he had tasted. Pushing it away from him, he gladly took the plate of bacon and sausages she handed him.

It was now something past eight in the morning. Sesshoumaru had not stirred once, his mind free of all dreams/nightmares. Less than half an hour ago, though, something cold and wet had nudged her back and she had awoken to find herself staring up into large blue eyes. A sticky lick had followed, before the pup had belatedly remembered that she was not overly fond of doggy drool. Perhaps it had been the guilt that pacified him enough to allow her to take Inuyasha with her back to the house where she had taken a thorough bath. Mama, having greeted her upon entry, had been waiting with a big breakfast tray when she came down. With Souta trailing behind her, holding Inuyasha for her, she had returned to the training room to break her fast. Some reassuring words and an ear rub had been enough to free Sesshoumaru of his guilt. Now seated once more between the stubby forelegs on the blankets, with Inuyasha between her and the youkai hound and Souta opposite her, Kagome was in deep thoughts.

First of all, of course, was Sesshoumaru's predicament. No longer in danger of starving, he was, however, trapped in here; unless jii-chan wouldn't mind them breaking a wall down to let him out. But that would be even more disastrous; a one story tall puppy would be very difficult to hide from the rest of the world. Traffic helicopters flew over the dojo regularly to relay the situation on the roads; they would notice something huge and white and fluffy lounging in their front garden. He no longer seemed hungry; mama had sent three large packs of raw bacon just for him but he had merely sniffed at them before turning away. As Souta had commented, this could be taken as him not needing to eat three meals a day. Considering the amount of meat he had eaten last night, Kagome suspected that he would be alright for a couple of days. Then again, if they had not stepped in, the small lord would have most likely starved since he had made no inclination to find food for himself, so it was not the best idea to leave mealtime over to the pup. Still, with any luck, Sesshoumaru didn't require daily feeding; the sheer amount of meat that would be needed to do so otherwise would be too overwhelming.

Secondly, and what they had been currently discussing, was how they were going to succeed in getting him back to his smaller, more manageable form. It didn't look like he had any self-control over his transformation and had only done so due to sheer dumb luck, and some dust.

And, naturally, the entire fiasco remained a bother. How long was this spell going to last? Could it only be removed by the trickster, or would it fade off on its own? How was it going to affect the brothers in their adulthoods? Were they going to remember anything? So many questions, but the one she feared to consider the most was: _Was_ the spell reversible? Could it be lifted at all? What if it was permanent? The consequences would be severe and very grim…She had never met this Nanginkiko character, but she sure as heck hated him already!

"Ah!" Inuyasha sighed happily, finishing his cup of milk. "Ank u!"

"You're welcome," she smiled through her dark thoughts.

The lighthearted moment was short-lived.

A loud gurgle brought all eyes onto Sesshoumaru, who suddenly whined, raising his head from where he had been resting in on a paw.

"…Sis…" Souta said warily.

The large puppy whimpered again. A louder gurgle sounded from deep in his stomach.

She met Souta's wide eyes.

"That's not a good sign."

He whined again, fidgeting in discomfort.

"Oh God…Oh God…" Kagome chanted softly, not knowing what to do. If this was what she thought it was…

"Maybe if we put newspapers on the floor…" Souta offered, on his feet and ready to run back to the house.

"We don't have enough newspaper for that," she argued, also standing.

Upsetting the blankets and breakfast tray, Sesshoumaru crawled towards the doors and began scratching at them with his paws, whimpering pitifully. The gurgling grew louder. It was as ominous as it was audible. He couldn't hold it for much longer, despite his earnest attempts.

"What are we going to do?" Souta cried.

'Think, Kagome, think!' she ordered, starting to get anxious herself, finding them all on the brink of a very big and very messy situation. 'He can't get out…But it will be a disaster if he does it in here…If only he was back in his human form…There must be a way…'

Sesshoumaru released a mournful howl, his nails leaving deep groves in the wood, particles flittering about madly. It took her two looks, but inspiration struck in the most unlikely places. Watching the fine particles flying, she grabbed Souta by the shoulder.

"Get a handful of dirt!"

"A handful? We're going to need more than that!"

"Just do it! And hurry!"

Confused but scared by her suddenly commanding glare, he ran across the large expanse of floor to the smaller back door.

"Hold on, Sesshoumaru," she pleaded, rubbing his snout. "Just a little longer…"

Blue eyes begged her to be more understanding of his needs but she was helpless to do anything, until Souta returned soon after, having grabbed a handful of earth from the nearest flower bed just outside the door. Skidding on the floorboards, he stopped before her, dropping dirt all over the floor as he held up the shaking hand. Scooping the dark earth into her palms, she motioned for him to grab Inuyasha, who had been watching the proceedings on the side line, perpleaxed, and to put some distance between them. It was a long shot, but if this worked…

"Sesshoumaru!"

Not giving the whimpering puppy enough time to react, she flung the dirt at him, aiming for his nose. It hit its mark squarely. At once, the snout wrinkled and the puppy made several wheezing sounds before the blue eyes widened.

"Get down!"

"CHEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Her ears rang as an explosion, even louder than the first, erupted before her. This time prepared, she managed to stay on her feet, though the mere force pushed her back several yards. Despite the jarring effect it had on her body, she did not allow herself to recover fully before looking to see if her spontaneous plan had worked. The green smoke was still thick as she ventured forward. She could hear Souta calling out that he and Inuyasha were alright, which was of some relief. But what about…

"Whoa!"

She had stumbled upon…

"It worked!" she shouted gleefully, finding herself staring down at a disoriented white-haired child, who flinched at her loud voice. "Souta! He's back to normal!"

"Really?" Souta appeared, one hand holding Inuyasha's, the other fanning the smoke before them. "How did you know it would work?"

"Well, if one sneeze made him transform into his real form, I figured that another would revert the transformation."

It was terribly simple, actually. Embarrassingly so. Why hadn't they considered that before?

Both jumped aside when Sesshoumaru, who was, coincidentally, also butt naked, scrambled to his feet and managed to pry the door open wide enough for his small body to fit through. Slipping outside, he disappeared across the lawn, heading for the shrubs. Kagome made to follow, then rethought the idea and decided to trust that he would not go far. He probably couldn't, yet, given his…condition.

"Kagome?"

Mama poked her head in, mildly surprised to see the thick smoke that still hung around.

"I heard an explosion. Is everything alright…? Who was that running across the garden? Was that Sesshoumaru?"

"Sis made him change back to his human form!" Souta informed proudly. "She made him sneeze by throwing dirt up his nose and there was another huge bang and he was normal again! It was really neat!"

Humbled, Kagome scratched the back of her neck.

"You helped too," she said. "If you hadn't been so fast then it might have been too late."

"But where has Sesshoumaru gone?" mama insisted, noticing how much larger the training room looked without the giant puppy in it.

"Er…You see…Um…"

"He had to go to the doggy potty," Souta came to the rescue once more. "That's why Kagome wanted to transform him. It would have been pretty yucky if he had gone in here while he was that big."

Kagome nodded mutely. Talking about the mini lord's bathroom breaks was going to come back to haunt her once the brothers returned to their normal ages, she was sure…Egads! She was never going to be able to look at Sesshoumaru the same way again. Embarrassing thoughts! Bad, bad, embarrassing thoughts!

Mama ruffled Inuyasha's head in a belated but affectionate manner.

"Having slept in this dusty place all night, as a very furry dog no less, I'm sure that Sesshoumaru is in need of a nice, hot bath. I'll be more than happy to give him one for you, dear. Meanwhile, you can spend some time with Inuyasha; all this excitement around his brother must be making him feel a bit left out."

She was right. The hanyou wasn't demanding any attention, but he was just standing there by himself, looking rather neglected. Besides, mama was more experienced in dealing with things like this…And _she_ didn't know Sesshoumaru as an adult! Bad, bad, embarrassing thoughts!

"Thank you, mama." Picking up one of the tousled blankets, she held it out to the older woman. "You're going to need this. He isn't wearing any clothes."

"I noticed. Why not?"

"I guess they were ripped when he transformed."

"These two are just full of surprises, aren't they?" she laughed, accepting the blanket. "Come back to the house; it's a lot warmer and cleaner there. I'll fetch Sesshoumaru."

"Okay."

Giving old thumbs up, mama left in search of the missing puppy, calling out his name as she searched.

Sighing, and rubbing her aching head, Kagome knelt down and began to collect the scattered plates, food particles and blankets. Souta quickly helped her, as did Inuyasha, who eagerly ate whatever he could find that he liked, which made the cleaning up a whole lot easier. Between the three of them they had everything rounded up within ten minutes. Souta carried the tray with the now empty plates and saucers, Inuyasha was handed two pillows and she ended up carrying all the blankets, quilts and sheets, neatly folded, as well as the remaining three pillows. With Souta walking ahead and guiding her, as she couldn't see around the teetering pile in her arms, they made their way back to the house. Neither mama nor Sesshoumaru were to be seen outside and Kagome could only hope that she had found him.

"I'll get something else for Inu-no-nissan to eat," Souta announced once they made it into the building in one piece. "I think he's still hungry."

"Ya!" the hanyou agreed wholeheartedly, trying to rub his belly for emphasis but his short arms couldn't reach around the pillows in his possession to properly execute the gesture.

"I'll bring these to the laundry room," Kagome said, somehow managing to take the two pillows from him.

Grabbing the hanyou's hand, Souta tugged him to the kitchen.

Shuffling through the corridor, precariously balancing the stack of linen, she strained her ears and heard, to her relief, the shower upstairs running. No doubt, it was mama, who had found Sesshoumaru; it couldn't be jii-chan because he always sang while taking a bath. Rather badly too.

With a groan, she dumped everything on the floor in front of the washing machine. Gosh, she really felt tired. What she wouldn't give for a couple hours more of sleep. Shifting through the pile, sorting out the colors, she jumped when something plopped down beside her.

"Eh oh!"

Inuyasha, happily munching on some beef jerky.

Her eyebrow twitched. Jerky? She was going to keep a closer eye on Souta in the future as far as the pups' diets were concerned.

"Tasty?" she asked nonetheless.

He nodded vigorously, offering her a bite of the piece he had been chewing on. Eyeing the brown, soggy end, she blanched.

"No thank you. I'm full."

Stuffing a load into the washing machine, she poured in the powder and adjusted the setting. By now Inuyasha had finished the jerky and was licking his lips and fingers, still hungry. Was it just her, or was he a far bigger eater as a child than as an adult?

"Let's get you some real food," she said, picking him up and carrying him out on her hip.

The kitchen was deserted. She could still hear the shower going and it sounded like grandpa had gotten Souta to sit down and listen to yet another one of his many stories on the porch. Putting Inuyasha on the counter, she began browsing through the cupboards. He had shown a dislike for porridge but perhaps he'll settle for some cereal. She wasn't really up for cooking anything, unless he began begging.

Swinging his legs as he sat patiently, Inuyasha sung softly, the words not making any sense but the melody was pleasing to the ear.

"That's a pretty song," she commended, pulling out a box of cocoa puffs.

"Mama dado i."

Kagome looked at him with wide eyes. Mama? So he did he have some recollection of her…?

"Did your mama teach you that song?" she asked, pouring out a the cereal into the bowl.

He nodded.

"Iki ba, mama desatitu moko!"

He started to sing again, this time a bit louder just for her. His little voice was unbelievably harmonious. Swaying from side to side as he sang, he smiled at her. Dressed in a white jumper and denim overalls, which once belonged to Souta, he looked so different, despite the distinct hanyou features.

His song finished just as she placed the bowl of cereal on the kitchen table. Eager to try out this new food, he hopped off the counter and skipped over, jumping up onto the chair, just barely able to reach the spoon. Scooping up a spoonful of cocoa puffs and milk, he eyed it, sniffed it and finally took a tentative amount into his mouth. At once the ears perked and he quickly ate the rest.

'Add another one to your diet list,' Kagome thought, sitting opposite him with her chin resting in a palm, watching him as he munched on the chocolate-flavoured crunchiness. Hopefully the sweetness wasn't going to make him hyper…

"There we go."

Mama appeared around the corner, a freshly washed Sesshoumaru following her closely. Kagome did a double-take at the sight of the small youkai. He was wearing simple pants and a sweater, but what made her blink was that his hair had been pulled back and neatly plaited into a single thick braid.

"It's more practical," mama explained, ushering him ahead of her. "I had to wash his hair since there were twigs and leaves in it and it was so clean and shiny that I couldn't resist combing it, though he didn't want me to at first."

"Eh-ou!" Inuyasha greeted, turning it his chair and almost knocking the bowl off the table. "Aka num-num!"

With a steady hand, he held out a spoonful of his cereal to his brother, who stared at it as if waiting for it to do something. Clearly, he was not going to spontaneously develop a liking for 'human food' in this form anytime soon.

"I'll be right back," mama said, picking up the car keys. "The butcher shop called earlier; they have the meat we've ordered but I have to go pick it up. It's such a relief that he finally ate something. A few…scares aside, having him transform was a very good idea."

"Not so much an idea as sheer dumb luck," Kagome reminded.

"That's what raising children is all about. As a parent you are not expected to know your child through and through; you are expected to learn from you child. And not only are you learning, Kagome; you're also adjusting very well."

Kissing her on the top of her head, mama repeated the action on both pups before hurrying out the room, calling to grandpa that she was leaving.

Alone with her wards, Kagome chewed over mama's words. She was right, actually. She had learned a lot of things in the past couple of days. More so than she had in the months spent travelling through the feudal age. However, these two generated new questions in her mind with every passing hour. The current, though not necessarily in depth, question was:

"What am I going to do with you two today?"

Inuyasha, now licking the bowl clean, chocolate milk dripping down his chin, was too preoccupied but Sesshoumaru turned to the sound of her voice, the long braid swaying cleanly behind him. She wondered why he didn't plait his hair as an adult; like mama had said, it was a lot more practical, especially when he was in battle.

"Ya!" Inuyasha declared, holding out the empty bowl.

"Liked it?"

Nodding vigorously, he shimmied off his chair and dutifully carried the bowl over to the sink where he carefully deposited it. Brushing off his hand, he hopped back to unexpectedly grab Sesshoumaru in a big bear hug, making them both lose their balance and tumble to the floor. Sitting on his big brother's back, Inuyasha curiously picked up the braid, having never seen such a think done to the other's hair. His examination didn't last long; Sesshoumaru suddenly twisted, grabbed the hanyou and flipped their positions. Inuyasha squeaked and retaliated. Soon enough both were rolling around on the floor, yipping and trying to pin the other. Sesshoumaru was bigger and thus stronger, but the hanyou was very slippery and managed to wriggle his way free every time.

She intended to let them play for now as she tried to come up with a plan for the rest of the day. Resting her elbows on the table, Kagome noticed the pile of mail that mama must have picked up that morning laying beside the newspaper. She hardly got any mail herself, but sometimes her school would send something to discuss either her many absences or to inform her on important events that she'd otherwise might miss out. Going through the pile, she paused when she found one that had been open. A bank bill.

"Ha!" Inuyasha shouted triumphantly, having gotten a good hold on Sesshoumaru's tail.

He responded by grabbing him by the straps of his overall and flipping him over his head. The two tumbled about some more, yipping and yelping when the other would play too roughly.

Assured that they couldn't hurt one another, Kagome returned to studying the bill in her hand. Mama usually preferred that they didn't look through her mail…but mama wasn't here, grandpa was still lecturing Souta on prayer beads, and she was curious as to how the financial circumstance was. She had been gone for over a month during her last visit and so far had yet to find out if their monetary situation had improved…

Pulling out the slip of paper, she quickly scanned over everything before finding the total amount. Her mouth fell open.

'We can't afford this!'

She knew that mama had borrowed money from this bank in order to pay to get the shrine and its grounds a much needed renovation last year. They had been paying it back accordingly with a monthly sum but for some reason they had missed the past three months' payment and now the bank was demanding the full sum of the missed payments by the end of this month! In the letter the bank subtly threatened to go so far as to probably bring them to court if they did not get their money.

Swallowing, Kagome stuffed the papers back into the envelope and shuffled it amongst the rest, her hands trembling. No one had told her about this. Souta was too young to even know what was going on, but mama and jii-chan hadn't shown any signs of being worried. Mama was the current owner of their home and the buildings on their property, and she was a very good bookkeeper; so how had things managed to go so far? Was she hiding it from the rest of them?

Souta ran in, wearing his jacket, his backpack in his hand. Jumping over the wrestling pair, he grabbed a few energy bars from the bread pan.

"Tell mom that I'll be home before dinner."

"Where are you going?" she asked, trying to remember if he had mentioned anything earlier.

"To hand out flyers in town," he answered, stuffing the meal-on-the-go in his bag. "The company pays me for every box of flyers I give out. See ya!"

Running out before she could reply, Souta shouted his farewells to grandpa as the old man shuffled into the room. Jii-chan stopped when he caught sight of the roughhousing pups and Kagome could see his fingers twitching to reach for some holy o-fudas.

"They're only playing," she warned, ready to grab both and make a dash for it should he break out into chants anyway.

Disappointed to have yet another chance ruined, he mumbled beneath his breath and picked up his tattered old travel bag he always kept in the kitchen.

"I'll be back in a few hours," he said, slinging it over his shoulder. "I've found several boxes of genuine charms that should sell nicely at the square. Here."

Handing her a blue stone, he nodded towards the pups.

"This will repel their evil aura should they turn on you."

Inuyasha was flushed and panting, the straps of his overalls having come undone. Sesshoumaru was ruffled and nursing his tail, which Inuyasha had accidentally stepped on. Hardly the image of ruthless killers.

"I'll use it if necessary," she said in resignation.

After leaving specific instructions on how to use the stone, grandpa blessed her two times before splashing some holy water about. Mama wasn't going to be glad about that; now she was going to have to mop the floor all over again. Convinced that he had restricted the brother's powers, grandpa left.

"Ome?"

Inuyasha, a bit damp from jii-chan's dousing, had toddled over and was poking her gently in her leg to get her attention. Sesshoumaru was adjusting his twisted clothing, his tail kept warily close to his body. When she looked down at the hanyou he pointed in his open mouth.

"Ah."

"Hungry again?"

He nodded. All that tumbling had cost him a lot of his energy, apparently. Smoothing down his mussed up hair, Kagome pushed the family dilemma to one side for the time being to find something else for the hanyou to eat.

* * *

"And that is why you shouldn't poke your finger into power sockets." 

Inuyasha whimpered, wincing as she wrapped the band aid around his shaking finger. It wasn't really necessary, but the electric jolt had given the pup a nasty shock, in both sense of the word. It had happened so fast; one moment the hanyou had been contently running in circles nearby while she was making homework in the living room, the next thing she knew he was in the corner studying something and stuck his index finger in it. A small flash of white and blue and one very loud yelp had effectively drawn her full attention away from her books and onto her youngest charge, who was hopping around and holding his electrocuted finger as if it had been chopped off.

"There," she said, done with playing medic, for now.

"Never do that again. That counts for the both of you," she said, addressing Sesshoumaru, who was standing on the closed toilet seat, watching the proceedings. "You're lucky you are both youkai and that your bodies are a lot more tolerant to these things, though outlets aren't too dangerous…But still, don't touch them again."

"Owie," Inuyasha insisted softly, picking at the band aid.

Thinking up a way to get the pup over his 'trauma', Kagome picked him off the sink ledge and placed him on the floor.

"You were a really big boy, though. Do you want a cookie?"

"Tootie? Ya!"

"What about you?" she asked the older pup as he hopped off the toilet.

He shook his head.

Kagome sighed. The odds of her ever getting the full youkai to eat anything in this form were nil, but still she hoped that she would at least get him to taste a few delicacies. What child didn't like candy and ice cream?

'One who was raised to hunt and eat raw meat,' she reminded herself, accordingly taking Inuyasha's hand as the pup, for some reason, found going down the stairs scary and always needed to hold something while he descended, be it the banister or her hand. 'Maybe his system just can't take anything else. But then why is Inuyasha capable of eating other food that is normally not included in his diet? Hmm, maybe because he's a hanyou…No, that can't be it. Shippo is a youkai, and a kid, and he eats sweets and pastries and chips. Just how was Sesshoumaru brought up…?"

"--no choice but to take legal actions."

An unknown voice cut through her thoughts as they reached the bottom of the stairs. Up ahead, standing before of the closed front door, the two adults before her hadn't noticed them yet so she quickly dragged both pups into the living room, remaining just beyond the archway.

"Shhhh," she told the two, putting a finger to her lips.

"Shhhhhhhhhh!" Inuyasha relayed to his brother, despite the fact that Sesshoumaru's shadow was probably louder than the youkai himself.

On the other side of the wall mama's voice responded to the stranger, a man Kagome had never seen before, dressed in a smart suit, with a friendly but noticeably tight voice.

"I will have the money soon. You see, my cousin, who I've been borrowing money from to pay back the bank, passed away a few months ago and I had to use most of the money to help finance her funeral. And her family is now also requesting that I pay back the money I've borrowed so far, though me and her had agreed that I wouldn't have to pay her back until I had paid off all my debts. I'm terribly sorry for the inconvenience but I have been working two jobs now and I'm sure--"

"Ma'am," the man, a bailiff of some sorts, interrupted, "I am sorry to hear about the passing of your cousin, but I have cases like these every week and I have a job to do. The bank has filed a complaint against you for the missed payments and I am here to collect them. If you are unable to produce the money then I'm going to have to begin confiscating items within your house until we have reached the total amount."

Kagome's hand tightened, making Inuyasha wince. Quickly letting him go, she worried her lip, straining to hear the conversation. It was only her close proximity to the two that made listening in possible; mama was clearly keeping the volume as low as possible to avoid attracting their attention.

"This shrine and its artefacts have been in my family for years. It will ruin my father if anything was to be removed. Please, give me another month. I…I assure you that I will have the money by then."

Silence…

"I'll give you till the end of _this_ month, which is within twelve days. If the bills haven't been paid by then I will return with a warrant and officials to take in the inventory. I am truly sorry that you are in this situation, ma'am, but the law is the law and it would be unfair to make exceptions."

"…I understand…"

"Here's my card. If you are able to pay sooner than call me and we can settle this once and for all. I am also sorry to have shown up so suddenly, on a Sunday no less, but according to the files this is your only free day of the week."

"It's alright," mama said, still keeping up a brave façade. "Have a nice day, sir."

Kagome sunk to the floor, unsure of how to react to the news. Why hadn't anyone told her that things had gotten so dire? Was mama really keeping it from everyone else, maybe even grandpa? They all knew that money was a bit tight and mama's cousin had indeed been generously lending them some cash to just cover their debts before she died four months ago in a car crash.

'Four months ago…One month before they missed their first payment…'

The pups were watching her patiently, sitting side by side next to her. Her mind too cluttered to deal with them at the moment, she got to her feet and switched on the television. At once their attention shifted from her to the flashing screen, entranced. It was the first time either had ever seen such a thing and, instinctively curious, they moved in for inspection. Sesshoumaru led the way, crawling smoothly across the floor while Inuyasha followed, peeping around his brother every now and then. Once both were a couple of feet away, they sat back, staring with wide eyes at the young woman on screen who was singing in some concert.

'TV really _is_ addictive,' Kagome mused, putting down the remote. With them occupied, she crept out of the room but didn't have to go far.

Mama was still standing in the hall, reading the papers the man must have given her. Her defeated posture and shaking hands belied the calm in her voice earlier. One hand drifted up to cover her mouth while the other barely managed to hold on to the documents.

"Mama?"

She spun around, surprised.

"Oh, Kagome! Don't scare me like that," she said, trying to sound cheerful. "You are certainly learning a lot from those two; you are becoming as swift footed as them."

Not letting the smiling face throw her off, Kagome walked over.

"Mama, why didn't you tell me?"

She didn't answer, nor did she pretend to not know what she meant. The guilty sigh was enough to undermine it all.

"Does grandpa know about this?"

"No, father doesn't know. At least, not about…" She motioned to the papers in her hand. "But it's alright, honey. There's no need to make the others worry. I'll get the money and with my two jobs I will be able to keep up with future payments."

"But mama--"

"Did I hear someone at the door?"

Jii-chan, having come down from his nap upstairs, shuffled over, running his fingers through his beard, yawning.

"Just the mail man, father," mama answered before Kagome got a chance, holding up a few flyers that had indeed been slipped through the door sometime before. "And thank you for the contribution by selling those charms. Our finances have improved greatly."

Kagome fiddled her hands. They should tell him what was really happening…

"Excellent!" he said, clapping his hand together. "I have found a few more odds and ends, which should bring in a few hundred yen more. And if it still doesn't cover it…Well, I hate parting with our more cherished items, but one or two sacrifices will not hurt the family heritage."

Kagome's shoulder sagged. The news would give jii-chan a stroke. Mama seemed confident enough that she would have the money on time…and what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him…But how was mama going to get that much money in less than two weeks…?

"Well, it's been a busy day and I'm sure you're all eager for a nice cooked meal," mama said hurriedly, stuffing the papers back into the envelope. "If I begin preparing dinner now then we'll be ready to eat by the time Souta comes home. Father, would you like to cook your special cabbage for this evening?"

"Ooooh! I have just the ingredient!"

Following the old man, mama passed Kagome with an apologetic but pleading look. She liked the idea of lying to her father even less than her daughter, yet they weren't in the position to risk the truth and his health. Handing Kagome the bunch of colourful papers, she looked away briefly as if ashamed to appear so weak in the presence of her eldest child, and continued on into the kitchen, putting on a smiling face to meet jii-chan, who was still rambling about special roots that would protect them from youkai poisoning.

Kagome sighed, running a hand through her hair.

'Mama, you can't do this on your own. Even with both jobs you can't possibly raise enough to cover the debts! You've been working so hard and trying your best to keep things under control, but you need help…Only…I don't know how…'

She entertained the idea of how Inuyasha would have been able to solve the problem with a swing of his sword, producing all those diamond shards…Sadly, he was currently no taller than three feet and addicted to lollipops, pudding and television, plus his sword was back in the feudal age.

'Funny,' she thought, returning to the living room, idly shifting through the many flyers, 'I wonder why he hasn't transformed without Tesseiga…He must still be too young. Yeah, that's it. He didn't get Tesseiga until I came along so he didn't need it before.'

Turning into the living room, she blinked. Then blinked again. She then rubbed her eyes, blinked three more time and looked, but her eyes weren't deceiving her.

On the screen was another singer, dancing madly to the music, singing in the microphone in his left hand while he snapped his fingers along with the rhythm. The crowd was cheering and screaming, singing along to the lyrics…

"Iki ba! Lalalalalalalalalala! Iki-iki-iki naaaaaa!"

And so was Inuyasha.

Standing on the low table, holding the remote control like a microphone, the little hanyou was bopping to beat, singing like he had the entire population of Japan before him. Improvising with his own words, he was gleefully duplicating the singer, even going so far as to be swinging his hands and attempting to snap his own fingers. At one point he fell to his knees, hitting a high note with impressive accuracy, throwing his head back and his arms out for dramatics.

"Oni mukalalalalaaaaa, yippi-dippy! Heeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

Biting her fist to stop herself from laughing, Kagome didn't know whether she should be highly amused, surprised or awed by the hanyou's sudden display of musical talent. On a scale from one to ten Inuyasha was scoring a twenty on the Cuteness Scale with his carefree performance. However, it was his singing that had her wracking her brains for any moment in the past in which he had displayed any hints of having a love for music. She found none.

'Well, I'll be…'

He was good. Damn adorable, and rather good.

"_When everything's meant to be broken, I just want you to know who I am…"_ the singer rounded off his rendition of the famous song, solemnly staring into the camera as the music faded.

Inuyasha mimicked the pout, humming out the last few melodies. When the camera panned away from the stage and onto the crowd the hanyou proudly turned to his left and bowed. Following the direction in which he did so, Kagome was able to locate the small entertainer's only other spectator. Sesshoumaru was watching his brother's one-man show from where he was sitting on the windowsill. When the pup began to bow with flourish the mini lord politely clapped, though gave no word of appraisal.

Kagome, on the other hand…

"That was so cool!" she gushed, startling Inuyasha as she swooped in and scooped him up in her arms. "You were great! I didn't know you had it in you! I'm sure the others will love to hear you sing too! Ooooh, wait until everyone back in the feudal age hears about this!"

A bright blush crossed the pup's face and he shyly toyed with his microphone/the remote control, humbled.

"Do you like singing?"

He nodded with some measure of pride.

"Do you want to sing another song?"

"…Ya…"

Borrowing his 'microphone', she changed the channel to a music station. The room was filled with the crazed beat of a classic favourite. The white ears perked. Taking the remote back from her, Inuyasha watched for a while, picking up the alien yet fun beat before he began to sing along, building more confidence as he got into the groove. By the time the second couplet started he was loudly singing and wildly dancing across the table, eyes fixed on the television as he copied the singer's moves.

Sesshoumaru slid off the windowsill and walked over to take a seat next to her, giving Inuyasha the allusion of a bigger crowd, which he turned to every now and then to make sure they were still watching him. Kagome couldn't hold in her cheer when he executed a perfect moonwalk across the smooth surface. Sesshoumaru didn't seem as impressed, but then again, he probably saw a basic evasive attack whereas she viewed it as Inuyasha's uncanny ability to imitate complex dance moves. She didn't know if he knew exactly what he was doing, but he was having a blast.

Looking down at the flyers she was still holding, she was about to toss them away, enabling her to clap along with his singing, when the one on the top of the pile stopped her hand. Her amusement turned serious when she read the boldly printed letters on the very professional stationary.

**Last Chance!**

**Tokyo Conference Centre proudly presents:**

**My Sweet Chibi Contest!**

**Do you know a child in your family who has what it takes to be crowned the Prince or Princess of Chibi? Now is your chance to show Japan your precious angels in the first ever child beauty contest! Due to the overwhelming amount of entries the deadline has been extended till today so now is you chance to sign up! A fun experience for the entire family, as well as wonderful prizes and prize money!**

**First Prize: 250 000 yen!**

**The age categories are: 1-4 years, 4-8 years and 8-12 years. Participants will be judged based off of appearance, behaviour and special talent.**

**For more information call the number below.**

**Children are the future, but until then they will remain our little angels!**

**Enter now!**

That damn contest…That prize money…There it was. In her hands, taunting her…Goading her…Seducing her…

'…Special talent…'

She looked up as Inuyasha moonwalked to the other side of the table, twirled and did a toe-stand.

'…Beauty contest…'

Her eyes traitorously turned to Sesshoumaru, who was calmly watching his brother, his sleek eyes and silvery hair flickering in the television's broadcasting light.

'…Debts…Not right…250 000 yen…Trust…Mama…Friend…Grandpa…Unfair…'

It…She…Why…

Sesshoumaru blinked out of his reverie as she jumped to her feet. Taking slow steps, she neared the telephone, watching it as if it was about to attack her for her intentions. Her no doubt evil intentions…Or were they…?

'They have a chance of winning…And mama can't handle this on her own…And jii-chan will be so upset if we have to give up his heirlooms…250 000…Double that prize money…" she muttered, struggling to sort things out. Clutching the flyer, she looked over her shoulder.

Inuyasha finished his song with a stage dive, landing with a giggle on Sesshoumaru, who had anticipated the move and easily caught him, though not without roughing the hanyou up for trying to pull such a stunt on him. Once again, they began to roll about, not hurting one another but determined to win the match. Despite their rapid movements, she saw the bright shine in Inuyasha's eyes as he wrestled with his brother, as well as the amused smile on Sesshoumaru's lips as he deflected every failed attempt by his sibling to pin him.

Staring at the phone, she crossed her arms, trying to get a hold of herself.

She couldn't bring something like this upon them…She shouldn't…She really shouldn't…

"_Good afternoon. My Sweet Chibi Contest competition! How can I help you?" _the receptionist's voice on the other end of the line answered cheerfully.

"…"

"…_Hello? Is someone there?"_

"…Um…"

"_Miss, do you want to sign someone up for the competition?"_

'Inuyasha…Sesshoumaru…I really hope you won't remember any of this…'

"I'd like to sign my two cousins into the contest."

Tbc…

* * *

A/N: Dum-dum-dum-duuuuuum……..Uh oh. How on earth is she going to pull this off? 

Read & Review, please.


	12. Beauty and the Beast

Title: Puppy 101

Authoress: Ladya C. Maxine

Rating: T

Summary: see chapter one

Warnings: see chapter one

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of its characters. Any and all unrecognizable characters belong solely to me and are not to be used by any other. I am not making any money off of this and I write with the sole intention to entertain.

A/N: looks around Huh? How the heck did I get here? Oh well. Might as well update.

BTW, thanks for over 1000 reviews! Well, amassed over a shameful year, but thanks all the same.

* * *

'Bad Kagome! Really, really, really bad Kagome! Selfish, evil, thoughtless Kagome!' 

"Oh, aren't they darlings!" a woman swapped in purple cooed, holding onto the handrail above Kagome's head.

"Thank you," Kagome forced what felt like her hundredth smile in the past twenty minutes, turning to the woman standing next to her in the crowded bus. All around them people were staring, and in the back a group of school girls wouldn't stop squealing. There were quite a few young children with their mothers also packed in here, and Kagome was pretty sure she knew why.

"Such rare features. Are they albinos?"

Inuyasha, who'd been playing with Kagome's cell phone, transfixed by the tiny monitor, turned in her lap when the woman experimentally rubbed a lock of his hair between her fingers. He stared at Kagome, not sure what to make of the stranger's actions. Kagome, however, wasn't as passive. Keeping up her smile as best she could, she turned, angling the pup away from the aisle and the woman, pulling the newsboy cap Inuyasha was wearing further over his head. She feared that it might pop off at any moment.

"Brother and sister?" the woman persisted, jostling another commuter out of the way to get a better look at Sesshoumaru, who was sitting by the window, ignoring everything inside the bus.

Kagome, who had to continuously juggle Inuyasha, her bag and her book, blew a strand of hair out of her face, counting to ten slowly before shaking her head.

"Brother and _brother_," she corrected.

"Oh, but he has such soft beautiful! Has anyone ever told you that he looks like a porcelain doll?"

"Yes. Um, I really have to get back to my studies, ma'am, so—"

"Where are they from? Such light features; are they European?"

"They're from abroad," Kagome nodded, and said nothing more about it.

"Ome?" Inuyasha asked, patting her cheek to get her attention.

Somewhere in the crowd, a couple of people aw'd. Kagome, struggling to keep her book from slipping, accordingly took the phone from him, wondering what he wanted. There wasn't much space on her lap, but he easily manoeuvred himself around until he sat facing her. Taking her algebra textbook from her, he held it open against him.

"Okay?" he asked, big eyes hopeful that he was helping her by serving as a living table.

"It's okay, Inuyasha," she smiled. "I can't focus in here anyway. I'll just study later."

Sesshoumaru suddenly tapped her arm, pointing outside. A towering grey skyscraper was slowly coming into view, on its edifice a sprawling pink and blue banner with children on it. Traffic before the building was thick and people were streaming in and out of the glass doors.

"Crap!" Kagome hissed, fumbling to press the STOP button, though someone else had already done so.

"You're entering them in the My Sweet Chibi contest?" the same woman asked, hanging over them like a lilac bat.

Suddenly the other women didn't look so friendly. Some looked envious, some looked defeated, most looked affronted. As the bus groaned to a stop, Kagome slung her bag over her shoulder, hiked Inuyasha up onto her hip and took Sesshoumaru's gloved hand, all the while praying they'd all make it off the bus without losing each other. As she excused her way through the crowd, which was thinning as many were also getting off here, she heard the whispers.

"Is she really entering them?"

"I hope they don't belong to my son's age group."

"Are they even hers?"

"You're right; she's just a school girl."

"Is that allowed?"

"I hope not!"

"Do you think she's…altered their appearance for the contest?"

"That hair colour is unusual, even for Europeans."

"And those eyes; I think they're contact lenses."

"Horrible what some people will do for money!"

Keeping her head high, Kagome stepped off the bus, steering the pups away from the throng filing towards the building, ignoring the stares. Finding a relatively quiet spot on a bench beneath a tree, she sat down with a sigh, putting Inuyasha next to her while Sesshoumaru pulled himself up onto the bench. Kagome stared at her hands. They were shaking.

'What was I thinking?…What if those women are right?…They're not mine…Who am I to be doing this?…What will mama think when she finds out?'

Inuyasha was searching his coat pocket. He pulled out one of the twenty or so lollipops he'd stashed in there and, after a hearty struggle with the wrapper, held it out to her. He'd already picked up that grape was her favourite candy flavour.

"Yum," he encouraged, patting his tummy as she took it. He then took out another and handed it to Sesshoumaru, who took it but didn't eat it; candy didn't interest him much. Undeterred, Inuyasha ripped open one for himself and crammed it into his mouth. "Mmmm!"

"Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru…"

Two sets of golden eyes turned up at her. Standing, she pushed them closer together and knelt down before them on the pavement, holding their hands. Mama had bought some better fitting clothes for them and, despite having come home from work at eleven, had spent another two hours altering all of Sesshoumaru's pants, neatly cutting holes for his tail, and coming up with creative ideas for hats and caps for Inuyasha. Mama still didn't know about Kagome's plans, but her timing had been perfect. And still…

'…What if mama won't be happy with the money?…What if she'll be ashamed of me?…'

Inuyasha was swinging his short legs, rocking from side to side, occasionally bumping Sesshoumaru, who still held his unopened lollipop. Though Kagome was getting sick of hearing it herself, they were indeed like a pair of dolls: fair, innocent, delicate and priceless.

'And yet here you are, trying to make money off of them. Way to go, Kagome!'

She didn't think Inuyasha would fully understand what she was about to say, or what kind of place they were about to enter, but he and Sesshoumaru had to right to know. And she also wanted them to know her reasons, and her regrets.

"You see that?" she asked, pointing to the skyscraper. They followed her finger. "We're going there. There's a…um…game there. And we're going to play in it."

"Yuki na?" Inuyasha asked, making a vague hand gesture that looked like ball.

"No, not that kind of game. A contest. Um…you like mama, don't you?"

"Mama? Ya!" Inuyasha's face lit up, holding up his lollipop, which had indeed been a gift from mama.

Sesshoumaru, having put his lollipop in his pocket, was watching her steadily, and while it was a far cry from the great Lord Sesshoumaru's death glare, it contained a faint trace of the penetrating stare that made the pup look as wise as his adult self. It made Kagome feel both guilty and humbled. It was still unclear just how advanced Sesshoumaru was, or even how much of his adult conscience was active, if at all.

"Um…I…as I was saying…Mama's in some trouble and…and I want to help her so if we take part in this contest we might be able to help her…I'd never do this if it weren't for the situation, and I really hadn't planned this when I brought you here…But…But I'm worried about mama…and jii-chan…and our home…And I promise I'll look after you both and—"

"AAAWWWWW! Wook at the wittle dolls!"

A group of seventh graders stopped in their tracks behind Kagome, hugging their bags as they hopped over to stare at the pups. There were only four of them but the way they crowded in made it feel like they were with their hundreds.

"Is this some kind of show?" one of them asked Kagome.

"I wanna picture!" another shouted, waving her cell phone around madly.

"Cuties!"

"Oh my god, I wish my little brother was this adorable!"

"I want one!"

"Are they for sale?!"

"Let me hold one!"

Inuyasha yelped when he was plucked from the bench and almost crushed in a tight hug, struggling as the obnoxious girl showered him with kisses. He wasn't as shy as Sesshoumaru, but this was definitely too much for him. Whimpering, he twisted and turned, trying to pry himself free while all the girls moved in, petting his head and pinching his cheeks.

"Ome!" he yelped, reaching out a pleading hand to her.

Kagome's vision went red.

"LET HIM GO!"

People on _the other side_ of the street jumped, looking around them with wide eyes. A car swerved, almost hitting a cyclist and a fruit vendor. Before her the schoolgirls cowered. The one holding Inuyasha quickly put him down and ran back to her friends, finding safety in numbers while he hurried into Kagome's arms.

"You don't go around grabbing kids like that!" Kagome scolded the group, hugging Inuyasha close. She felt Sesshoumaru gripping her leg, also in need of some reassurance after the sudden chaos. "You scared them both. Think before you do something next time, will ya?"

"Y-Y-Y-Y-Yes!"

"S-S-S-Sorry!"

And they ran, pigtails and short skirts bouncing madly as they hightailed it out of there. Inuyasha dared to peek out from beneath her hair. He'd dropped his beloved lollipop on the ground, and was too shaken to care.

"Ank u," he said as she adjusted his cap.

Sitting back down on the bench, she moved him to her lap and pulled Sesshoumaru close so that he could also find some shelter in her arms. She could feel their hearts hammering in their chests. Inuyasha, resting his head on her chest, took hold of Sesshoumaru's hand, cuddling it close to him, seeking double the amount of comfort. He was still breathing heavily.

Kagome sighed, resting her head on his while she held onto them.

No, she couldn't do this. If they entered, this was bound to happen again and she couldn't put them through it. This had only been a small group of schoolgirls; how would they fare against a whole crowd? They didn't want the attention; they couldn't handle it.

"You know what?" she said, combing Sesshoumaru's hair with her fingers to better hide his pointy ears, "Forget it. Why don't we go to the park and get some hot chocolate milk instead?"

Neither gave any form of protest when she stood but when she started walking, away from the building she'd pointed out to them, Sesshoumaru, who was walking next to her, was standing his ground, holding onto her with both hands. He shook his head and pointed back to the building.

"No, don't worry. We're not going there."

He shook his head again and started to tug her back.

"Sesshoumaru, really, it's done."

Frustrated, Sesshoumaru looked around him, searching for a way to explain his intentions. In the end he just tugged at his own clothes, looking at her meaningfully. Not getting it, Kagome crouched down. Inuyasha wriggled free and stared with a tilted head at his brother.

"What's wrong with your clothes?" Kagome still wanted to know.

Inuyasha, however, understood what his silent kin was trying to get across when Sesshoumaru looked at him, as if there was some sort of telepathic link along which they could read and reason with each other's thoughts. At least, he understood what it was about Sesshoumaru's clothes Kagome wasn't getting.

"Mama!" he chirped, jumping up and down excitedly. Now he too was pointing at the building. "Gia nano mama!"

Kagome's breath caught in her throat.

"You want to repay mama for the clothes…for helping take care of you."

Sesshoumaru nodded.

"But you don't have to do this. Tell you what, we'll go to an arts & crafts store and buy some paper and sparkles and we'll make a nice card. She'll love it."

"No!" Inuyasha objected, siding with whatever his brother wanted. "Mama!"

"But there'll be a lot of people…and you'll have to do some things…and there'll be cameras and reporters and it can be pretty scary."

Sesshoumaru shrugged, taking her left hand while Inuyasha grabbed her right. Before she let them drag her along, Kagome used her superior strength to pull them back into a hug, moved to near tears, and, deep down, greatly relieved.

"I promise you, I'll protect you. Nothing and no one will get to you, okay?"

Cupping Sesshoumaru's face, she stared deep into his eyes.

"Sesshoumaru, are you absolutely sure? I'm afraid you don't fully understand what it's going to be like, and I know you don't like it when there are too many people around you. I wish I knew what was on your mind; please, tell me. Tell me what you know."

After a long moment, the pink lips parted and a soft breath was released, followed by an intake of air…but then he closed his mouth and looked away, abashed. Kagome bit back a frustrated sigh. Why? Why wouldn't he talk to her?

Their roles were reversed when Sesshoumaru took her face in his hands, but he only rested his brow against hers as some obscure sign of affection and trust. When he pulled away he looked more determined than ever. Inuyasha hopped over and took his hand, swinging it between them excitedly as he looked back at Kagome with a "Well?" expression.

Brushing off her knees, Kagome walked over and took Inuyasha's other hand.

'…If this is what they want…This still doesn't make it right, but if we're all in on this…and if they're willing to do this…I will protect them…And if anyone gives them a hard time…' Kagome's eyes narrowed with resolve. '…Anyone troubles them…and they'll have to deal with _me_!'

* * *

The building housed several offices and companies, but the competition was being held in, and sponsored Tokyo Conference Centre's own exclusive Star Crossed Hotel. It's lobby had been turned into a waiting room; its show room the contest itself would be held; and some of its ground floors had been reserved as dressing rooms. This was the real deal. People from all over the country had converged right here, fame and riches already shining in eager eyes. 

Staring blankly at the papers in her hands, Kagome was still second-guessing the whole thing. They'd had to wait in a long just to get a number (one for each pup) which was rather unceremoniously stuck onto the potential contestant's chests while Kagome was given a stack of papers that they called a registration form but what she was convinced was a book.

She looked around her. Children from toddlers to pre-teens, dressed in everything from tutus to evening gowns to Halloween costumes, some eager, others less so, were being fussed over by their parents, mostly mothers. Some were singing, others were juggling; one little boy was even rehearsing a famous play. Every ten minutes or so numbers were called to the large doors behind which the first judging was taking place. For every sixty people who went in, fifty-nine, if not all sixty, came out upset or outraged. The mothers, that is.

"Who am I to judge?" Kagome challenged herself, crossing her legs.

Inuyasha was sitting at her feet, the tip of his tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth as he tried to peel the sticker off his shirt front. She'd allowed him to take off his scarf and coat, but he had to keep on his cap and gloves to hide his ears and claws. He'd found a solution and had poked the sharp tip of his nail through the gloves, but even that wasn't enough to scrape off the bothersome sticker.

Sesshoumaru couldn't remove his coat, lest he reveal his tail for the whole world to see, and he didn't mind his sticker, so he just sat there watching Inuyasha flailing about. He'd come to realize that certain parts of them were meant to remain covered so he'd pull down Inuyasha's cap whenever the hanyou's wrestling would threaten to knock it off.

Overtime they'd established a routine: snarl, tumble, adjust cap, snarl, tumble, adjust cap, snarl, tumble adjust hat, etc. It was only broken when a particular noise would make the two clamber up onto the chairs and peer over the backs at the assembly for a minute or two before they returned to their floor routine. Ironically, the two little demons, dressed in everyday clothes, looked and were acting more normal than the crying, nagging, costumed kids around them; mothers were constantly insisting that it was just the excitement that was turning their usual angels into little terrors, trying to save face even as their angels kicked and hit them, or ran around the room screaming loudly, or threw tantrums for every possible reason.

"I do wish they wouldn't let riffraff like those enter such a prestigious competition, don't you?" a nasally voice asked out of nowhere.

Abandoning the confusing mess of papers in her lap, Kagome looked up to find a woman sitting right opposite her in the aisle. She'd chosen this spot, way in the back, for its seclusion and relative peace; everyone was up in the front, where TV cameras were reported to be sometime during the day. Here, it was quiet and the brothers were content, and she could hear herself think.

The woman was wearing expensive clothes that would have made her look elegant if it weren't for the heavy green eye shadow, fake eyelashes, candy apple red lipstick, someone-just-slapped-me bright rouge and the tight bun in her hair that gave her already surgically enhanced face an instant, and alien, facelift.

Next to her was a smaller but equally strange looking person. Looking hard, Kagome was surprised to find a young girl beneath the mop of dark, tightly curled hair that flowed out from beneath a pink bonnet. She was wearing a dress that looked like it was made entirely out of doilies, and black, rounded Mary Jane shoes with lacy socks. In her daintily gloved hands was a frilly pink umbrella.

It was a sight Kagome had never seen before; an actual living doll, which was a bit creepy. And yet, there was something about the girl. Beneath all that doll make-up and curls, the big brown eyes and round cheeks looked familiar…

"Ninety percent of those children aren't fit for a barn," the woman said. It took her considerable difficulty and much concentration to blink her eyes; her skin was that tight. "Screeching wild children with mothers who don't know the first thing about proper child-rearing. I'd be mortified if my daughter acted like that. Your appear to have yours well-trained also. Interesting colouring, by the way. Bleach and dye?"

"What?"

"Their hair, did you bleach and dye it white?"

"Uh, no. I don't think it's healthy for kids to be exposed to chemicals."

The woman's laugh was like a donkey braying. Inuyasha jumped, his lollipop stick drooping as he stared, open mouthed, at the braying human before him before climbing up to Kagome and settling in her lap, warily watching the lady. Sesshoumaru wasn't as easily scared, but he had his hands clasped over his ears, trying to protect his delicate hearing. While he wasn't too impressed with the woman, he kept staring at the girl, seeing something Kagome wasn't.

At last, the deafening noise died down to soft tittering.

"Have they ever won anything?" the woman asked, neglecting Kagome's last comment. "My daughter has been Beauty Queen _and_ Pretty Princess of her school for three years running, as well as a regional champion four time. She's also been in a total of eight commercials, and we're currently working on a movie deal."

"That sounds really exciting," Kagome smiled to the girl, who couldn't be older than seven.

"Boring," the girl yawned dramatically, studying her pink paste-on nails. Though it was distorted by her obnoxious whine, her voice was familiar too. "Where's the competition if I always win all the time anyway? Ugly people shouldn't be allowed to enter, mommy. They annoy me."

For all her sweet appearance, the girl was rotten to the core.

"Now, now, dear," the mother said without any reproach in her voice; she was smiling fondly at her little brat, "Not everyone is as gifted as you are. What have I taught you?"

"That I should be sorry for everyone because they are less fortunate than me."

"They learn so fast, don't they? Yours are quite a pair. What are their names?"

"Sessh—I mean, Sora and…er, Riku. Actually, Riku and Sora."

Sesshoumaru craned his head back to give her a bemused look and Inuyasha wrinkled his nose.

Okay, so that hadn't been one of her greatest cover-ups, but their real names would raise eyebrows. Only demons would proudly call their children 'The Killing Perfection' (Sesshoumaru) and 'Dog Demon' (Inuyasha). Humans wouldn't be too impressed, however. Or they'd think the pair to be possessed, which, incidentally, wasn't far from the truth. All the more reason why their real names had to be kept secret; nothing hinting to their true identities could be revealed.

"Riku and Sora…Nice, strong names," the woman said, tapping her pointy chin. "And you are…?"

"Kagome Higurashi," Kagome said, and was forced to ask, "And yours?"

"Gin Akita," the woman identified herself, touching her man-made chest with dangerously long nails that could pop them. "And this is my daughter, Rin."

Kagome almost dropped the forms.

No, it couldn't be…

She had to be imagining it. It was just coincidence. Rin was a common name. After all, that living Barbie doll couldn't possibly be…Not with that contemptuous attitude…Not…It just couldn't be.

"Rin," she forced a pleasant smile. "That's a pretty name."

"I'm beautiful," Rin said, making a bold statement that threatened anyone who dared deny it. She was still to engrossed in her nails to look anywhere else.

"Um…yes?"

"Well then. A pretty name's perfect for me."

Finally satisfied with her hands, she looked up, studying the three of them for the first time. She dismissed Kagome, looked a bit interested in Inuyasha, who was lying on his back, playing with his brother's long ponytail. Sesshoumaru was staring at her, completely still. His golden eyes met the girl's brown ones and Rin actually stared back with something other than boredom. She looked him over, and Kagome could tell that the girl was feeling that this wasn't the first time she was meeting the white-haired boy/youkai.

Rin herself didn't know any better, but Kagome was now certain, without a doubt, that the self-groomed princess before them…was feudal Rin's reincarnation!

"Rin!" her mother suddenly hissed, forcing her to sit upright. "Don't gape! They're patrolling the floor!"

Rin looked away but Sesshoumaru continued to stare. He must have positively identified her as the kind girl who'd looked after him when he'd first awoken from the spell, and as the same girl he knew held some sort of important part in his life, but he was also at a loss as to why this Rin wasn't showing any hint of care towards him. It confused him, and he hung back, unsure how to act but definitely captivated.

Looking behind her, Kagome saw that the lobby was even more chaotic than before as parents tried to gather their wayward children, fixing runny make-up and adjusting little bowties. The cause of the commotion was obvious: walking amongst them were a man and a woman. The man wore a smart, grey suit, his steel-healed shoes clacking in rhythm with the woman's high stilettos. Her suit's bright red colour clashed with his more subdued tone but they both had looks on their faces that said the same thing: they were very important.

They walked slowly, like vultures leisurely circling the floor. They were offered small presents by some people, and a few of kids tried to show them their singing/dancing/acting talents, but the pair just walked on, unimpressed. The woman was carrying an envelope that had many people trembling just at the sight of it. She looked even more imposing with the dark sunglasses perched on her straight nose.

"Who are they?" Kagome whispered, though it was far from silent in the lobby, what with everyone trying to sweet talk the two.

"Only the two most influential judges in the world of pageants: Cynthia Lacroix and Maxwell Olson," Gin said, giving her daughter's curls some last minute touch ups while Rin checked her make-up in a handheld mirror. "They have been invited to serve on the panel here. Both are foreigners, but their opinions are highly regarded throughout the world. Of course, they're good friends of mine."

Meanwhile, back amongst the masses, a woman shoved her daughter before the two, blocking their way, tripping over her own tongue as she began listing all the reasons why her child would do the pageant justice. Not to be outdone, others joined in to argue their case.

"Fools," Gin chuckled, now preening herself. "Desperation is such an unattractive thing."

"Um…" Kagome faltered, staring at Rin in her I'm-cute-dammit! outfit. "Yeah…pretty desperate."

Mrs. Lacroix frowned harshly at the women at her feet. All it took was a snap of her fingers and five security guards advanced out of nowhere, stripped the group of their numbers and escorted them out the building despite their please for forgiveness. The duo moved on, unmoved as they scanned the floor.

"What are they looking for?" Kagome asked, keeping her trembling fingers occupied by readjusting the clip on the end of Sesshoumaru's long ponytail. "Is this part of the judging?"

"It isn't unusual for the top judges themselves to have a look around, to weed out the exceptional from the average. There are only 150 places available, 50 for each age category. This helps speed up the process of finding suitable participants. This being the first competition of this size ever, it wouldn't do for there to be simply fair or cute children: to draw in an audience for next year, the participants have to be stunning."

"Should I sing for them, mother?" Rin asked, fanning herself with a (naturally) lacy fan.

"No need," Gin said confidently. "Mommy has it all under control. I'm so glad I do not have to fill out those forms. You see, when you are as well-known as my daughter and I administrative work is no longer needed. Tedious things, aren't they, those forms?" she asked Kagome, pointedly looking at the haphazard pile in Kagome's lap.

"Yeah, really tedious," Kagome gulped. She hadn't really looked at the questions yet, because, upon receiving the papers, she'd felt something tie a painful knot in her stomach, and since then she'd been doing her best to ignore both it and the papers.

She really should have thought of this earlier, but, if one was to look at it in a legal light, she had no guardianship over Inuyasha or Sesshoumaru. There weren't any birth certificates or passports. In fact, they no longer existed in this day and age, being time-travelling demons from the past.

She'd gotten away with giving them false names; conjuring up false identities wasn't that simple.

'This is insane!' she told herself. 'I can't even prove that they exist! What if the authorities found out? What if they'd think I'd kidnapped them? Even worse, what if, when they'd taken them from me, they discovered that they aren't even human?!'

"We're leaving," she told the two pups, blocking out Gin and Rin, who were making some sore of pre-planned agreement. Sesshoumaru wanted to object when she took them by their hands, but she shook her head sternly. "No complaints. I made a huge mistake and if anyone finds out who you really are—"

"Strangers!" Gin's voice rang out as she rose to her feet, her arms spread out with overdone flourish, her face nearly tearing under the strain of her smile. "It's been too, too long!"

Kagome spun around and swallowed a small squeak. The two judges were right behind her, so close she could make out the details in the woman's pearl and diamond necklace and the golden inscriptions of man's tie clip. Something bright and loud brushed by her as Gin glided over to embrace the woman, who finally managed to crack something that could have been related to a smile.

"Beautiful as always, Gin," Mrs Lacroix smiled, and Kagome knew that, if there was one thing the woman was more skilled in then judging, it was lying as she complimented her 'friend'. "You seem fit and well, especially considering that the divorce wasn't so long ago."

"It was hard, Cindy, but I found some measures of comfort," Gin said, purposefully flashing one of her gaudy rings. "Prenups are such useful things."

"We knew we'd find you here," Mr Olson said, just barely, moulding his stern face into a more pleasant one. His blond hair was slicked back with enough oil to take out an entire coastline, Kagome was sure. "Going for another trophy, are you?"

"It isn't much of a strive for my dear daughter, is it?" Gin said, stepping aside to show off Rin, who curtsied, smiling as smug as cat with every last drop of cream in the world.

"My, how you've grown! Yet still precious as always," Mrs Lacroix beamed. She opened the large envelope in her hands and took out a golden slip of paper. "Welcome to the competition. You're through. We look forward to seeing you on stage."

The crowd that had huddled around them gasped at the sight of the paper, which Gin took with false humbleness.

"My, my! You are too much, Cindy," she said, waving it about to make sure everyone saw what it was. "Really, this is such an unexpected surprise! Be assured that you are cordially invited to our celebration feast at the end of the competition."

"Your confidence is well warranted," Mrs Lacroix said, tossing back her shiny black hair to peer over the rims of her sunglasses. "I have yet to see a child half as adorable as Rin, though, we were told that there are a pair of…Good heavens!"

Abruptly forgetting her 'dear friend' and her 'dear friend's 'precious daughter', Mrs Lacroix marched right over to Kagome, pulled off her sunglasses and stared in all encompassing awe at the pup in Kagome's arms. Inuyasha, not as impressed with her as she was with him, was still trying to get the offensive sticker off his shirt, having managed to rip off one corner.

Kagome wanted to step back at the near-crazed glaze in the woman's green eyes as she hungrily took in the sight of Inuyasha. That little shred of sanity tore when she looked down at Sesshoumaru standing with his hand gripping Kagome's pants' leg, looking up at her through his soft bangs. Kagome worried that the woman was having a seizure; she was gripped her throat and made a strange noise. Were those…tears?!

"My word, the rumours are true," Mr Olson said, also abandoning a flustered Gin to join his companion in gaping at the pups. "I thought they were exaggerating, but those truly are silver strands!"

"And golden eyes!" Mr Lacroix said, trying to compose herself as she got in Sesshoumaru's face.

"Porcelain skin!"

"Flawless features!"

"And all natural; no make-up! No lenses! No wigs!"

"They look so ordinary in those clothes, yet so exotic!"

"Unbelievable," Mr Olson said, circling the trio, studying the pups from all angles. He made one of those how-do-I-put-it? hand movements. "I…am stunned," was his conclusion.

"Just the balance we are looking for," Mrs Lacroix exclaimed, turning on Kagome with a wide grin. "My dear, you have here a perfect pair!"

"Actually," Kagome said, feeling self-conscious now that every single head in the lobby was turned towards them, "I was just about to go home. I've changed my mind and—"

"Oh, you most certainly will not! These two are exactly what this pageant needs! Here," Mrs Lacroix almost tore open the envelope, as excited as she was, all semblance of cool superiority gone. She held out two golden pieces of paper. "Here are your tickets. Your boys are in the competition and I will not take no for an answer!"

"Perhaps we should make them the poster children for the pageant," Mr Olson suggested, cell phone already in hand. "Have their pictures on every poster, flag, brochure and commercial. Think of the attention they'll bring to the pageant!"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Mrs Lacroix agreed, practically wringing her hands together.

Kagome drew the pups closer, afraid that the woman might swoop in and snatch them from her. Her hesitance was exploited by Gin, who came forward, all fake smiles and burning eyes.

"W-Well, Cynthia. I haven't seen you this excited before," she said, putting on a brave face. "But perhaps you shouldn't get your hopes too high, or make too rash decisions. Remember, this isn't a contest of just looks; talent is also important, and as you know my Rin can do it all."

"I know she can, dear," Mrs Lacroix said, more interested in the length of Sesshoumaru's hair. "I've seen it all before. But this, these two are fresh and new! Forgive me…"

"Er, Kagome Higurashi," she supplied.

"Forgive me, Ms Higurashi, if I seem…overwhelmed, but you are aware of the two jewels you have brought before me?"

Inuyasha gave up trying to unstuck his number. He flicked off the sticky scrap of paper and, pouting, looked around. He blinked at Mrs Lacroix, who stared back expectantly.

"Eh-oh!" he beamed.

Mrs Lacroix almost fainted.

"He's a singer, isn't he?" she asked Kagome. "I can hear it in his voice; this child's a singer."

"He likes singing—"

"Tell them he's a singer!" she ordered Mr Olson, who was heatedly talking on his sleek mobile.

"No, I'm serious; I don't want to enter them anymore. It's complicated and…I haven't even filled out the forms yet," Kagome tried to reason. "And I was thinking—"

"No need, no need. That's just trifle protocol that no one ever looks at. At least, it is now. Yes, I'll deal with it. All you have to do is show up with these two and we'll do the rest. I am really looking forward to what your sons have to offer!"

"But they aren't my—"

"Our card," the man cut in, holding out a business card. "You can reach us at all hours. Your name, address and number?"

Struck dumb, Kagome stuttered the information to him. She was feeling the burn of envious stares all around her. Gin was a pillar of fire and smoke as she stood rooted in the same spot, outraged at being ignored while Rin smouldered next to her mother.

"Then that's that," Cynthia said, beaming. "You will be getting more information in the mail. Ciao, darlings!"

The crowd parted as the two walked off, done with floor patrolling, too excited to talk about anything other than the pups. The crowd dispersed, some trailing behind the judges, hoping to get similar reactions out of them with their children, while others were packing up their things, already throwing in the towel.

"Ink bu ta?" Inuyasha asked, looking between her and Sesshoumaru, waiting for an answer. His cap was sitting lopsided on his head, just barely hiding a fluffy ear.

"Congratulations," came a very stiff voice as Gin walked over to collect her belongings which she had left on the chairs. "It looks like my Rin _will_ have a couple worthy rivals after all."

"Y-Yeah," Kagome, still trying to process what just happened, said, staring at the golden tickets in her hand. "But I…um…I wasn't expecting this…"

"_Of course_ you weren't," Gin said sarcastically, wrapping a massive feather boa around her thin neck. "But like I said, this contest isn't just about looks so I do hope those two can do more than just stand around looking doe-eyed. Don't want to traumatize them for life, do you?"

"But…I…I-It's only a contest," Kagome said bravely. "And this is supposed to be a fun experience."

Gin tittered her donkey laugh, walking over on her bandy legs to stand face to face with Kagome. Her perfume was strong; trying-to-hide-the-smell-of-formaldehyde strong! Inuyasha actually coughed, covering his nose with a hand and burying his face in Kagome's chest. She would have blushed if she wasn't struggling to keep a straight face, blinking away tears.

"Don't be so naïve, little girl," Gin sneered, not doing any wonders for her face. "Naivety does not translate well in this environment. Yes, to the outside world, this is all fun and cute, but this isn't about fun. This is about recognition. This is about winning. Because no one likes to lose, do they? There's no 'fun' in that. So if you're here for fun I suggest you pull out now, because _I_ never lose."

"It's a competition, not war," Kagome argued, trying to keep her cool.

"Hmph. Same thing, different names." Gin brushed an invisible hair from her tight face. "But what am I getting all wound up about? Everyone loves the homely, girl-next-door look, and Rin symbolizes the essence of our nation's people. Yours," she pointed directly in Inuyasha's face, "have nothing recognizable about them. The public won't connect with such outlandish looking children. If I weren't a better person, I'd dare to say they look a bit like…freaks, Ms. Higurashi."

"Ome?" Inuyasha asked, edging away from the accusing finger. "Da mi?"

Kagome, however, handed him to Sesshoumaru, who pulled his little brother behind him to shield him from any more nasty words. Kagome would have reassured him, but she was too busy seeing red.

"Freaks?" she growled a Sesshoumaru-like growl. She took a step forward, actually feeling her miko powers tingling to ward off the threat to _her_ pups. "If I weren't a better person I'd tell you to take a good look in a mirror, if you could find one that wouldn't crack at the sight of you, before you went around judging others on appearances, Mrs. Akita."

Standing behind her mother, Rin wasn't looking as smug as before. Every time her eyes fell on Sesshoumaru she'd look away, confused. Gin was having trouble looking Kagome in the eyes too, but was trying harder to pretend otherwise.

"I suppose," she said, ruffling her boa, "that, unlike myself, you must really need the money. In that case, I can find it in me to pity you instead."

"I don't believe you; it would have to take you much longer to find any humanity deep down in that body of yours. Now, if you'll excuse us, we have a competition to prepare for. Oh, and can you give this back to the people behind the registration desk?" she asked, dropping the stack of papers in the woman's hands. "You were right; it's a pleasure not having to fill them out."

She dressed both pups swiftly, ignoring the indignant woman glaring at them as she and her daughter also packed up. Kagome left first, carrying Inuyasha while Sesshoumaru trotted beside her. She would have walked away triumphantly if the woman's words weren't still ringing in her ears. Yes, she'd entered them only for the money, but now she had a new goal: to make Gin Akita eat her own words, and to make sure that she'd choke on every syllable!

"Evil cow," Kagome muttered, stalking past the doorman holding the glass door open for them. He nervously wished her a good day but she didn't answer. "Conceited bully…We'll see who will be the loser…Stupid, plastic-faced, walking Tupperware…"

She grumbled the entire way back to the bus stop. Those who fawned over the brothers kept their opinions to themselves; afraid to approach the glowering young woman. Every time she felt herself calming down she'd see Gin's pug face or hear her nasal voice and she'd get all riled up again. By the time they reached the bus stop and sat down to wait Kagome was plotting evil things that had nothing to do with the pageant. If only she could use her miko powers to—

"…Ome?"

Inuyasha was sitting between her and Sesshoumaru, half-heartedly kicking his short legs. They were the only ones there but it would soon be rush hour and already the street was beginning to fill with pedestrians, drivers and commuters. Pulling his knees to his chest, Inuyasha picked at his shoelace, a troubled look on his face. He looked at Sesshoumaru, then down at himself.

"F-Fweak?" Inuyasha asked. Before Kagome could stop him, he pulled off his cap and touched his velvety ears, tracing their curves with a tiny finger. He sighed, confirming his own thoughts. "Fweak…"

"No, Inuyasha," Kagome scolded softly.

She kissed both ears before putting the cap back on. Pulling him into her lap, she ran her fingers through his hair, smoothing it out. It was still weird, holding someone she knew best as a loud and crude fighter like this, but when Inuyasha snuggled closer her reservations disappeared and she returned the cuddle. She was the only thing they had in this scary, modern world; sometimes, her own feelings didn't matter, so long she kept them safe and secure, as she'd promised.

"You are not a freak," she said sternly, fiddling with his scarf. "You are Inuyasha. Nothing less, and maybe even a little bit more. Just ignore the mean lady."

Sesshoumaru took Inuyasha's place next to her and she placed an arm around him, pulling him against her side. Some of the rage that had been dissipating returned two-fold when she saw the unsure look in his eyes. Sesshoumaru, his adult self known in the feudal age as the perfect demon, had been troubled by the title. The older pup knew full well what he'd been accused of being, and while his adult self would have brushed it off—Correction, while his adult self would have sliced Gin into thin shreds, he didn't yet know just how mighty a being he'd turn out to be. He'd noticed that he and Inuyasha certainly didn't belong here; that if they weren't like her, like humans, they were outcasts…freaks…

"You are everything every single human wants to be," Kagome told them as they clung to her. Their combined body heat was an even better barrier against the cold than their clothes. "You both are perfect and if anyone ever says otherwise they are just jealous and you shouldn't listen to them. You're a million gazillion times better than that sculpted hag."

"Ya!" Inuyasha nodded seriously. "Baba pleh!"

"Yes, she is revolting. Humans are like that."

"No! Ome no pleh," Inuyasha disagreed. "Ome okay."

"Ome is a bit pleh," Kagome muttered under her breath, watching as Sesshoumaru offered Inuyasha the lollipop he'd given him earlier, which the hanyou happily accepted since it was already unwrapped. "Ome is just like every other human…"

"Ome, mama, Ota okay!" Inuyasha insisted, his tongue turning green from the sugary treat on a stick. 'Ota' was his newest name for Souta, who was proud to have been given a nickname by his now pintsized idol. "I-an okay!"

"Jii-chan? Grandpa? Yeah, he's a nice person too."

Humming happily, Inuyasha settled down to watch the cars practically parked in the streets, stuck in traffic, some of the drivers leaning out their windows to stare at them. She couldn't believe how late it was. She'd spent all day waiting in that stuffy lobby. And she hadn't gotten further than one page in her textbook!

A familiar jingle cut through the silence. Her hands full with Inuyasha, Kagome struggled to reach her phone. Sesshoumaru fished it out of her coat pocket for her. He looked tuckered out. It had been a long day for the two of them. The moment they got home it was going to be dinner (for Inuyasha anyway), bath and then straight to bed. Kagome wished she could follow suit, but she was going to have to study at least two chapters tonight.

Sighing, she took the blinking phone from Sesshoumaru and shifted Inuyasha to one side, patting her thigh. Sesshoumaru gratefully lay down, resting his head on the offered lap. Looked like she was going to have to carry them both home. And those were a lot of steps leading up to the shrine…

"Hello?" she sighed into the phone, watching her and Inuyasha's misty breaths mingling in the cold air.

"_Kagome, where are you? Dinner's ready and we've been waiting for twenty minutes,"_ mama's worried voice said. _"And you know how grumpy Souta gets when he doesn't eat on time. Is everything alright? Are Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru okay? Did something happen? Do you need me to come pick you up somewhere?"_

"Oh, um, no, mama, we're on our way."

"_But where have you been? When you left I was under the impression that you'd only be gone for a couple of hours."_

"Um…mama…there's something I have to tell you…"

"…_What did you do?"_ mama asked with a knowing-I'm-not-going-to-like-this tone that always went hand-in-hand with mothers' magic abilities to know when their kids did something bad.

"I…um, kinda entered Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru in the national child beauty contest…"

There was a dead silence on the other line, with grandpa and Souta complaining in the background of family-starvation/homicide. Mama was the calmest, most tolerant person Kagome knew, and it took a lot to make her the least bit upset.

And this had been more than enough. When the ominous sound of a deep intake of breath sounded in her ear Kagome braced herself, wishing that they were back in the past, battling Ryuukotsusei all over again.

Tbc…

* * *

A/N: Personally, I oppose child beauty pageants, especially when you see the overzealous mothers/parents (usually, it's the mothers) who work their poor kids to the bone. I'm always under the impression that the mothers are trying to live their dreams through their kids. The worst I ever saw was an infant beauty contest, where 3 month old babies were wearing eye shadow and lipstick. There should be a law against that! 

LOL I couldn't resist using the names 'Sora' and 'Riku'. I'm currently playing Kingdom Hearts (for the fifth time) and I just love it to itty-bitty pieces!

Sorry for the lack of Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru escapades in this chapter. I had to shift attention to the competition, but those little cuties will be back in the spotlight in the next chapter.

And, I solemnly swear, it isn't going to take me another year to update. Sorry about that, by the way.

Read & Review, please.

P.S. I'm back on LiveJournal! Check out my Inuyasha fan art in my scrapbook.


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